Only Sixteen
by NightmareGlitter
Summary: REVISED very slightly. When Alexis feels depressed and abandoned, Chazz might be the only one who can erase her pain, even if it is only an affair. Is she using him to attract someone else? And is he the reason Zane's changed? CxA, JxA, and ZxA.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: (Well, here's the rewritten version. And I worked VERY hard on it. I spent hours every day for several weeks re-reading it over and over and editing. I hope it's worth it. Also, I might point out that some of the events happen out of order and differently from the show. I planned this on purpose to work with my plot.)****This story will have some lemon scenes. My policy on this is to be sweet and romantic about it, not overly explicit, descriptive, nasty, or animalistic in any nature. Please let me know if it keeps to the proper intentions; however, please don't flame me. I don't know what I'm talking about entirely, having never experienced it. It's just a story, it's fantasy, it's not meant to be entirely realistic. I'm just having fun writing, and I hope you'll have fun reading it. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own GX.**

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Chapter 1

Alexis sighed as she gazed out the window of the classroom. She bit her lip apprehensively, drumming her fingers on the desk. For the fifteenth time that day, she looked down at Chazz, sitting coolly and confidently in his obelisk blue uniform. Looking at him made her feel even sicker to her stomach.

Not that there was anything wrong with him. As of that week, he'd done nothing to annoy her or pester her. That was the problem. Something was up, and she didn't know what.

This annoyed her greatly. Nothing was normal anymore. She felt as though it had all started with Jaden. No matter how much she adored him, he never seemed to notice. She had, for the longest time, felt as though she was falling for him, yet she never knew what to tell him. He wouldn't have understood nor would he have returned her feelings. And what was all the more irking, he hadn't been paying her any attention at all lately! Perhaps he had even been avoiding her. She had plenty of reason to believe this.

When she'd tried to talk to him, he'd reacted rather strangely. She recalled earlier in the morning, when all she had done was approach him. Immediately, he'd seemed nervous. However when she had spoken to him, he had gone ballistic. He'd laughed a little, his eyes darting about, as though he were contemplating escape. She could still hear the hurtful words he'd spoken.

"Um, I can't talk right now. Sorry, I gotta go finish my homework." And off he had run.

What really bothered her was--no, not the expression on his face, his body language, or his vocal tone--but that he'd used homework as an excuse to get away from her. Since when did Jaden do homework? He never did, that was the answer.

But he hadn't been the only one. Her other friends had been treating her strangely as well. They had noticed her mood swings for the past few weeks, and were whispering about her behind her back. She tried to ignore them, but it was awfully hard with the entire school breathing down her back. Sometimes, she'd receive sympathetic looks or a murmur of apology. She did not need their compassion. It was all probably fake anyway. Not that anyone had exactly been really horrid to her. Well, no one except for a few random students and Katiann.

What bothered her was the fact that instead of acting normally, everyone was treating her as though she were too fragile to handle herself. And, instead of talking to her like they had in the past, her friends had been avoiding her to some degree. They never were mean to her. On the contrary, they acted very polite to her when they did communicate. But it just wasn't the same anymore.

Zane, as well, had been more distant than usual. The previous night, she'd tried to stand with him at the dock, as usual; however, this time, after ignoring her for several long minutes, he'd walked off. She remembered being completely stunned by his strange behavior. What was wrong with him? Why was he so upset? Had she done something wrong?

She had figured that perhaps he wasn't feeling well; however, his next statement had proved otherwise.

"Alexis, I don't feel like talking to you. Go away."

Why had his tone been so cold? Did he hate her?

She shook her head to clear the painful incident from her memory. Sighing heavily, she looked back down at Chazz. So far, he hadn't said anything that would add to her stress. Question was, how long would that last?

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Later that afternoon, she walked down the hall, carrying her books. Somehow, she felt depressed, more so than she ever had. She felt as though things could not have been worse. And she didn't know why. For some reason, all her self confidence was gone; she felt too drained to care about anything.

"What's wrong with me?" She wondered, hugging her books closer to her chest, "Nothing makes any sense anymore. Why do I feel this empty hole in my heart? Why does it hurt so much?"

She noticed people starting to look her way, staring and whispering as tears began to fill her golden eyes. Shaking her head and biting her lip, she decided she just didn't care. What did it matter what they thought anyhow?

As she rounded the corner, she spotted her brother, Atticus. Her eyes softened. It wasn't that she didn't care about him at all; sometimes she just felt inferior to him, like she did at that moment. He was the favored one…he never did anything wrong. And then…

"Poor Atticus," She whispered, leaning against the wall. Her eyes dropped to the ground, "It's not your fault. I'm sorry I felt so jealous of you. Who could've known that this would have happened?"

Quietly, she started to walk away. It wouldn't be long before he--no. She must not think of that. He would be all right. She must have faith in him.

"Hey, sissy!"

She turned slowly, feeling slightly ashamed. "Oh, hey, Atticus." Shifting uncomfortably, she avoided his gaze.

His expression grew worried. "Sissy? Are you all right?"

She looked up into his concerned chocolate eyes. "Well, I…" She couldn't bring herself to lie to him. Although she felt inferior, although she felt self conscious, she could not let him down. Feeling all the sorrier for him, she threw her arms around him and squeezed tightly. "You'll always be here for me, right?"

Atticus looked down at her, smiling softly. "Of course!"

She hugged him tighter, closing her eyes and concentrating on his heartbeat. A weak heartbeat…it only reminded her that he didn't have much longer until…until…She squeezed her eyes shut as pain shot through her chest.

"I love you, Atty." She whispered, holding him tighter.

"I love you too, sis," Atticus told her, kissing her on the top of the head.

Reluctantly, she pulled away from his warmth, trying not to remember what the doctor had said. Despite his words, she knew he would not always be there for her. In fact, soon, everyone would be gone in their own separate ways. And she would be left to walk the world all alone.

As she retreated down the hall, walking by a classroom, she overheard a conversation between two girls. Recognizing her name, she stopped to listen.

"Have you heard about Alexis Rhodes?" One girl asked in a hushed whisper.

"I know," The other one murmured, "It's a shame. Poor thing. To think, pregnant at sixteen! And by Jaden, too."

"There's nothing at all wrong with the boy," The first girl muttered, "He's actually quite nice."

"Yes, which is why I don't understand why he would abandon her like that! Have you seen how he's been acting?"

"Unfortunately. Why must she be put through this? It's terrible!"

"And no one will reach out to help her,"

"Would you?"

"No, I can't bring myself too. How awkward she'd feel if she knew we knew!"

"That's true. And what about the fact that she also has been sleeping with Zane Truesdale?"  
"I have no clue what to say to that. Poor Alexis. It's not really her fault. And I know it's not her fault that those nasty pictures got up on MySpace. I feel so sorry for her. It's just not fair."

"And we all know why she's doing this. Her poor little heart has been broken. But there's nothing we can do to help her."

"No, nothing. How shameful! The whole school knows she's been sleeping around. Not to mention pregnant. No wonder everyone's been so hushed and careful around her!"

"Yes, there's no reason to get worked up. She's got enough on her already."

"Such as her brother's heart--"

"Don't say it."

"I'm sorry. It is just too sad…no one knows what to say to her."

"It's best we leave her alone."

"I suppose it's only fair."

With that, the two girls retreated into the background, whispering in even lower tones. Alexis shook her head in disbelief. How could anyone think such things? She wasn't pregnant! Moreover, she was a virgin! Perhaps these rumors had been why Zane had behaved in the manner he had. Feeling more torn inside, she hurried off to get away from the stressful atmosphere.

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As the afternoon continued, she found herself growing more and more upset. Every time she thought of Atticus, she felt a horrible stabbing at her own heart. Whenever she thought of the way she used to feel about him, more guilt overwhelmed her system.

Not to mention the fact that her mind kept replaying the conversation from earlier. Why did the school believe that? Where had these pictures come from? It was just too much for her to take. She felt as though she could not go on. She was a nervous wreck.

In despair, she went down to the beach. She hoped to be alone so she could sort her life out. No such luck. As soon as she reached the shoreline, she saw a familiar figure with spiky black hair standing in the ebbing tide, tossing rocks carelessly into the foaming waves.

She started to turn around, afraid he might add to her burden. Before she could run; however, he spotted her and called to her.

"Alexis, come here."

Hanging her head in shame, she trudged reluctantly over to the youngest Princeton. "What do you want with me?"

He said nothing for a moment, only tossed another smooth stone into the ocean. "Hey, I've noticed you've been upset lately. And now I think I know why. I've heard what people have been saying about you."

"So?" She said miserably, "What does it matter to me? Everyone's heard that. No one really cares."

He stopped throwing rocks and turned his head to face her. "Alexis, I want you to know that I didn't believe them for a second. I care about you. I've known you since duel prep school, and I know you'd never do anything like that. Not to mention I know all about your little self esteem issues and your little breakdowns. I want you to know, no matter what, I'm always here for you."

She sighed. "What difference does that make? You'd follow me to the ends of the earth. You'd follow me to hell and back. You're nothing but a lovesick puppy."  
"I'm not just that," he told her, gripping a stone in his fist, "I'm your friend."

"Sometimes it feels like you're my only friend" She muttered ungratefully, "No one ever understands."

His expression grew bitter. "Well, if that's the way you're going to be. Fine, go through life without a single friend. But take it from me, the world is very cold without friends."

She started to turn away, but then stopped, and turned around again. "Chazz, there's nothing I can do to stop this rumor. It's already spread like wildfire."

"I know."

"That's not my point."  
'Then what is?"

"I-I need someone to be there for me. Please, don't let me walk this world alone. Please understand that this is a hard time in my life, and it's been going on for awhile now," She paused to breathe deeply, "I'm not sure if I can handle it on my own. I know I've done so in times past, but this is strangely…different."

He stared at her for a moment. Their eyes locked, charcoal gray and golden brown. The only sound was the now distant crashing of the waves on the shore, and the pounding of their hearts in their ears.

Finally: "What do you want from me?"

Nervously, she wrung her hands, looking down at the sand. She swallowed hard before answering. "I-I want a friend."

"And?"

This was it. He knew.

"And," she continued, squeezing her eyes shut, "I need someone. I mean, because of this rumor, I might never find a boyfriend, much less a friend. I'm so afraid…What'll I do if that happens and I want to get married? What if no one wants to marry me?"

"I'll marry you." Chazz said softly, looking at her with tender eyes.

She blushed at his words. "I can't do that. Not anytime soon. I'm not saying I want to get married."

"I know."

"I'm not saying I want to be your girlfriend."

"I know."

"I'm not saying I'll be committed and refrain from seeing other guys." She thought of Jaden at this point, and blushed more.

"I know."

"Do you know what I'm saying?"

He nodded.

She bit her lip, and took a deep breath, eyes closed. Then, in a shaking, choked tone, "You know I have no friends that I can truly count on. In a sense, they've abandoned me. I know they don't mean to, but that's what's happened. I know they mean well and want to give me my space but…they've hurt me. I implore you, do not be the same."

"I can promise you I won't."

She breathed even deeper to suppress her deepest sorrows. Covering her eyes with her hand, the once strong queen of Obelisk blue crumbled. Her facade vanished.

"Chazz, you have to promise me you won't hurt me." She cried softly, then, almost reminiscent of her talk with Atticus, "You've got to promise that you will always be there for me."

He took a step closer to her and took her in his arms. "I promise I won't hurt you. And yes, I will be here for always."

"You'll make sure I'll be Ok?"

"Of course."

"Please, don't abandon me," she said again, clawing at the front of his blue jacket.

"I won't."

Seeing that she was falling to pieces, he stepped back, slid an arm around her shoulders to support her and led her back to his room. She tore away from him, and slammed the bathroom door shut.

She cried for what seemed like hours, then, to wash all her tears and sorrows away, she took a long, hot bath. She didn't care that she was at his room. Nothing mattered. And it didn't matter what she did now. Her reputation was ruined anyhow. Her heart had been broken into a thousand tiny pieces. And her closest friend would soon be…gone. It seemed as though she could do whatever she pleased at this point. Nothing else mattered anymore.

This in itself was a bit of freedom that she took pleasure in. However, no matter what, she would never be a slut. There was no way she'd give it up to just anyone. The man she gave it up to had to be something special.

Then again, she really needed someone to help her out. Sure, she could take care of herself, but she was deeply wounded by everything that had been happening. She felt as though she would have preferred it if her friends had been mean to her rather than to shun her and leave her confused. She didn't have anybody, anywhere to go.

Thinking on the subject for several minutes, she finally came to a conclusion. No matter what, she had to make sure that Chazz couldn't leave. She would do what she had to in order to keep him around.

She came out of the bathroom finally, having dressed again. After all the crying, she had developed quite a headache. She took an aspirin and lay on Chazz's bed, covering her eyes with her arm and feeling drained of all energy.

He understood and closed the curtains. As darkness enveloped the room, she became more aware of the rapid beating of her heart. She knew why.

"Chazz." She said softly, feeling the aching hurt come back to her chest. She hesitated for a moment.

"Yes? What is it?" He sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at her.

She took a deep breath and told him, "Come sleep next to me."

He was stunned for a moment, but quickly jumped at the chance to show affection towards her. He pulled his jacket and boots off and crawled in bed next to her. She lay absolutely still, her heart thumping harder feeling his warmth next to her.

They lay in bed quietly for a long time, just resting and recovering. She glanced over at him many a time, wondering if she really wanted to do what she felt like she had to. Then, looking into his soft charcoal eyes, she decided that it was indeed for the best. He wasn't stupid. He would understand what it meant and wouldn't abuse it.

"What do you mean to tell me by this?" he suddenly asked, interrupting the silence.

By then, her headache had subsided. She propped herself up on one elbow to look at him. "Chazz, since you're sacrificing your time and rep for me, I might as well do something for you."

"Not if you don't mean it." he admonished, frowning, "I don't want you to play me or anything. Besides, I thought you didn't want to be my girlfriend. You don't…have to."

"I do mean it. And not as payment. I won't play you; I like you, a lot. I just can't be committed to you nor do I want to be your girlfriend. But I'm willing to be your lover, as long as you take care of me and respect me."

He nodded, his mouth going dry. Deep inside, he figured he knew what she meant.

"I'll do more for you than anyone has or anyone will. I'm about to give something to you, and only you. And keep this between us." She told him quietly and seriously.

"What about your rep--"

She placed a finger to his lips. "Honestly, I'm too broken to bother with it anymore. Those people will never care again nor will they know about this. You, unlike them, have stayed. Please, let me do this for you if you will do this for me."

He only nodded again. "All right."

Slowly, she undid her jacket and tossed it aside. Then, she peeled off her shirt and unzipped her skirt, letting them drop to the floor. Her face turned scarlet as she unhooked her bra and slipped it down, followed by her panties. Ashamed, she held the covers over her body, not willing him to see it yet. She had undressed for him; however, he would have to follow through in order to see her.

He blushed, knowing that she was naked. For a brief moment, he hesitated. Then, he, as well, undressed. Both lay still for a minute, staring into each others' eyes, with red faces.

"Are you sure--"

"Yes. If you are. I'm sorry it's so quick. I'm just so--"

"I understand. You're hurt. You need someone to love you. I will. I promise."

"Ok"

She took a deep breath and grasped his shoulders, now afraid. He held his breath as he rolled her on her back, staring into her eyes the whole time. He saw her trust.

Slowly, he eased down on her thin frame, until he had obliged to her wishes. She winced as he started to drive into her.

"Stop, stop, stop," She gasped, clawing at his shoulders.

He did as she asked and looked down at her. "What's wrong?"

She squeezed her eyes shut, pain ripping through her body. "It hurts…so much."

"It'll be Ok, I promise you," He told her, "It won't hurt but this once…"

She swallowed hard, then, tears brimming in her eyes, nodded for him to continue.

Being as gentle as he possibly could, he pushed all the way into her. She bit her lip and arched her back, trying not to cry. Slowly, the ache subsided. She relaxed, telling herself that it would be all right.

He lay on top of her, feeling her heart pounding against his, feeling every curve of her body. His arms slipped around her body, holding her to him.

Alexis blushed deeply, and held him tightly, scared out of her mind. "Be gentle."

"I will."

They clung to each other, both inexperienced, both afraid. Neither knew of what to expect.

With great care, he gently began to move in and out of her. She allowed him this, feeling less frightened. It didn't hurt as much anymore; in fact, it began to feel sort of pleasurable to her.

He leaned down, his silky, black spikes tickling her nose, and pressed his warm, soft mouth to hers. She let their lips melt together. He gently forced his tongue in her mouth, which she allowed. She was filled with ecstasy.

Shaking, she pulled her mouth from his and touched a trembling hand to his thin cheek. "Don't stop."

"I'd be crazy to."

She didn't know how she could manage to utter any sound at all, much less form comprehensible words. She rubbed her long, smooth leg against his, causing him to shiver harder.

"I couldn't ever stop." He told her, pushing a little closer.

She squeezed her eyes shut, clutching him tighter, digging her fingers into his back. "Don't hurt me."

"I told you I won't. Am I now?"

'"No." She swallowed harder.

"I'll be good to you. I promise." After a minute, he gasped, "I love you!"

She stared up into his face, ashamed of the dirty sin they were committing under the bed sheets.

"I can't honestly say the same." she finally whispered, her eyes dropping. She laid her head against his bare shoulder, her golden locks falling in a cascade over his back. "But I can say," she whispered, "I like you very much and I want you to take care of me."

"So where do we stand?"

"I don't know." she gasped as it grew more intense. And thus, it rendered her incapable of speech.

But she did know. She knew she shouldn't have done this. But she had done it anyway, despite her upbringing and despite her common sense. She'd have to live with it for the rest of her life; however, it would be all right since he would never leave her. After all, they were lovers now, whether she liked to admit it or not.

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**A/N: I hope that was a little better than the original. If not, then tell me. **

**Next time: Chazz begins to doubt that Alexis was genuine about their night together when they have an unpleasant run-in with Jaden. And was Alexis really just using him to erase her pain? **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Ok, so last chapter was kinda rough because I was half-asleep when I wrote it. If you've read it thus far, then thank you for not judging a fic by the first chapter. In this chapter, you'll find out who started the rumors, and why everyone is acting so weird. And Alexis does some self-evaluation. Enjoy: )**

**Disclaimer: I do not own GX.**

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Chapter 2:

Alexis sat in her room, hugging her knees to her chest. She felt really sick. Not just because of the way everyone had been treating her, but also because of what she had done with Chazz. How could she have been so foolish? Why had she let her virginity slip away like that so fast, and to him? Guilt overwhelmed her; she needed time to think.

She honestly didn't know what had gotten into her the previous day. She had fallen to pieces, and in front of Chazz, too. Not to mention she'd relied on him for help. Why, she could take care of herself, now, couldn't she? So, what had gone wrong? Maybe she wanted him deep inside; she wasn't sure.

Feeling sicker to her stomach, she crawled into the bathroom and lay on the cool tile floor. The more she thought about her actions and how they seemed to confirm the rumors, the sicker she felt. She tried to get her mind off of it by reading a novel, but it didn't help. Even when she did succeed, she still felt like she was going to throw up.

Much to her dismay, this was exactly what she ended up doing. Once she'd cleaned up, she went back to thinking. Suddenly, she sat upright, a look of horror on her face.

"What was I thinking?" she gasped, "What if I'm...pregnant?" Suddenly, she felt quite regretful about spacing out during health class, thinking that she wouldn't need to know much about sex and pregnancy. Now, she didn't know what she should do.She took a deep breath to calm herself, and tried to think of a way to get a pregnancy test, without anyone catching her.

Slipping into the hall, she made her way quietly into the nurse's office. Seeing that Ms. Fountaine had stepped out, she rummaged through the drawers without fear until she found one. She figured she probably shouldn't take it without permission, but she felt she had no choice. Besides, Ms. Fountaine had plenty more.

Much to her relief, she discovered she wasn't pregnant. She was just guilty and anxious, that was all. But what was she to say to Chazz when she saw him? She couldn't just tell him to forget everything she'd said to him. No, she'd have to apologize.

Swallowing her pride, she went into her first period classroom, hoping Chazz would not be there yet. Unfortunately for her, he was. Nervously, she approached him.

"Um, hi, Chazz."

He looked up, startled. "Oh, hey, Alexis."

"So, how's it going?"

He shrugged. "Could be better. You?"  
"Not so good."

"Why?"  
"Uh, look, I don't know exactly how to say this..."

A look of concern and dread began to form on his face. "Just spit it out."

"Ok, but don't say I didn't warn you. Chazz, I really wasn't myself yesterday. You understand that, right?"

"Uh-huh," he said with a bit of uncertainty in his voice, "Look, Alexis, if you're going to accuse me of something or tell me that I took advantage of you, then I don't want to hear it. Take some responsibility, will you?"

"And will you take a sec to listen to me? Don't put words in my mouth. I don't like that. Anyway, I'm sorry for breaking down like that. I was just overwhelmed; I didn't know HOW to react. Plus, I have problems at home--my mom's on my case about college and clubs and grades and--you get it. I was really stressed out, depressed, really burned out from school and my hectic schedule and everything, and I guess what I mean to say is...I didn't mean to--" here, she lowered her voice, "--do what I did last night. I'm sorry. I mean, I tempted you, and, well, of course you'd do it. You adore me. I caused us both to lose our virginity."

"It's all right. I mean, I'd rather lose it to you--"

"You don't get it." she interrupted, "I don't mean to be harsh or anything, but I don't want to depend on you, Ok? I didn't mean what I said. I was upset. I had too much on me. But now, I've got myself together again. Now, I'm not saying that I used you--"  
"That's exactly what you're saying." he muttered, avoiding her gaze.

"No, no, that's not what I mean. I like you, I really do; I just don't want to be your girlfriend."

He looked up at her with sullen eyes. "Yeah, yeah, you told me that. You made sure I understood that you didn't want commitment. But a fling? A one-night stand? That's hurtful, you know. Not just to me, but to you too."

"I know." she sighed, "That's why I'm not going to do it again. Ok?"

"Whatever."  
"Chazz..." She sighed heavily and felt as though she needed to tell him exactly what the problem was. However, she wasn't sure how to tell him. "Well, I mean, I guess it's not coming out right…I'm sorry. It's all wrong." She wrung her hands and bit her lip in anxiety.

"Well, care to try to explain?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

She sighed again. "Chazz, it's not that I don't want to continue…it's not that I don't want you to help me out…I do, very much so. It's just…I guess what I meant was, it's not right. So we shouldn't continue, you know?"

"Ok, ok. Fine. I get what you're saying." He stood up.

Alexis stood as well. "Wait."

"What more do you want from me?"  
She held her arms out to him. "Still friends?"

He sighed heavily, but accepted her hug. "Sure. Why not? After all, it's not like you have any more."

She winced a little. "Ouch. Burn."

"Sorry." he muttered, seemingly insincere.

She understood how he felt, though. So she didn't say anything about his rude behavior. That time, anyway.

"Do you even understand what I'm trying to say, Chazz?" She asked, swallowing hard.

His eyes regarded her with cool contempt. "I'm not sure what you mean. I don't think even YOU know. What's the problem? Can't we talk this out?"  
"I want to," She looked away, unable to bear his gaze, "I'm just not sure if I can put it into words. I don't even know if I've made up my mind at all. Can I please get back to you on that?"

He rolled his eyes and tried to look annoyed. However, she saw the tears in the corners of his eyes. "Sure. Fine. Whatever you want." He shifted uncomfortably and stared up at the ceiling.

Her brow furrowed in worry. Quickly, she hugged him again. "Oh, I'm sorry. I never meant to make you cry."

"I'm not crying," He insisted, "I'm fine."

She looked up at him, worried. "Chazz?"

He tore away from her grip. "I'll see you later, Ok? I'll see you once you've figured things out." Having said that, he walked away.

She watched him, concerned and confused. How was she supposed to feel? What was the right thing to do? She'd thought she'd known…but perhaps she didn't know as much as she'd imagined.

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Later that day, she spotted Jaden sitting in the hall, looking intently at his cards. She had never seen him look so...serious. Just as she was about to ask him what was wrong, she noticed that he really wasn't studying his cards at all. He was asleep.

Taking a chance, she approached him and sat down.

"Jaden," she called softly in his ear. "Wake up."

He jumped, snapping out of his dream state. "Oh, YEAH! And that's game!"

"Whoa, Jay, be careful!" she said, dodging his fist.

"Huh? Oh, hey, Alexis." He looked at her with that cute, naive gaze of his. "What's up?"

"'What's up?' I could ask you that same question. Have you been avoiding me because of those rumors? 'Cause they're not true. I can't believe you, of all people, would fall for something as cheesy and nonrealistic as that."

"Huh?" He looked even more confused, "Rumors? What rumors?"

She fell over. "Oh, come on, you know, the rumors about me?"

He only shook his head.

"Then, why'd you run from me?"

"Run from you?"

"Jaden, are you playing dumb?"

"No. Oh, you mean that one day?"

"Uhhh," she wasn't sure which day he was talking about, but she nodded anyway.

"Oh. Ok. Well, you see, it's a funny story, actually." He blushed, "I guess I have no choice now."

She eyed him questioningly.

He took a deep breath. "Alexis, I was just nervous. You see, I decided that I'd tell you that I-I-"

"What?" she breathed, leaning forward in anticipation.

There was a long pause. Finally:"--I think I might be…in love with you."

She sank against the wall, and sat in utter, shocked silence.

"I know, it's sorta random, and sorta quick, but I didn't know how else to tell you. I was just stalling for time."

"But you just told me now--"

"I know, but that's only because you thought I was hurting you. I'm sorry."

She just nodded. "Jaden..."

"I don't expect you to like me..."

She stared at him. Could he possibly be that clueless? She'd liked him as soon as they'd met. It was almost love at first sight. Well, maybe that was a bit extreme. It was more like puppy love at first sight.

She wasn't sure if she should tell him, though. After all, he couldn't possibly know anything about relationships and how to handle them. What if he ignored her for dueling? What if he wasn't attentive enough? Not that she had a problem with his love for dueling. Perhaps that's what made her all the more attracted to him. They shared a love for dueling.

Another reason holding her back was Chazz. After what she'd done with him, it couldn't possibly be right to go out with Jaden. It wasn't fair to any of them. But then again, she'd told Chazz she wasn't his. She'd told him she'd date others. So what was the problem? Maybe it was more of a moral issue. Or maybe, it was because...she liked him.

Looking into Jaden's pleading brown puppy dog eyes, she knew she couldn't refrain from telling him. She couldn't break his heart or disappoint him. She just couldn't bring herself to do it.

They looked at each other for a long time. Slowly, Jaden pulled her into a close embrace. She stared more deeply into his eyes, all the while succumbing more and more to his gentle nature.

"Ok, Jay, you win. I like you, too. A lot. I don't know exactly how to classify it, but I've liked you ever since I first watched you duel Dr. Crowler. It wasn't just your dueling skills, it was the way you handled yourself, your attitude. I really like you."

She cuddled up to his chest, laying her head on his shoulder, quite similar to the manner she had with Chazz. Somehow, though, she felt a little awkward, a little wrong about this. However, she felt as though she perhaps meant it more…or did she? She felt all the more confused.

They sat like that until it was dinnertime. Then, Jaden reluctantly pulled away.

"I'd better go. Chumley and Sy'll be expecting me back. I'll see you later, Lex."

"Ok." She didn't want to let him go, but she knew she had to.

As he walked away, she realized she'd gotten herself in an even bigger mess. There was nothing she could do about it now, though. Walking down the hall, she wondered if she should tell Chazz. She figured that he had every right to know; she figured she shouldn't have confessed to Jaden at all. It hadn't been right.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

When she returned to the girls' dorm, she got quite an unexpected surprise.

"Alexis, Alexis!" Mindy ran over to her, panting.

"What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

Mindy looked up at Alexis with shimmering, tear-filled eyes. "Lex, I'm sorry." She thrust her arms around Alexis' waist and cried.

"What are you talking about?"  
"Well, I probably shouldn't tell you," Mindy sniffed, looking remorseful, "but I feel like you deserve to know. It's only fair."

"What?"

"You remember Katiann from homeroom, right? Well, she made some nasty pictures of you and Zane and of you and Jaden. For several months, she's been watching you, Zane, and Jaden. I guess she took some pictures of you guys then found some porn off the internet and Photoshopped it. Besides, you know how she has this thing for Chazz, right? And you know how she envies your popularity and dueling skills, right?"  
Alexis nodded, too stunned for a response.

"Well, she did swear that she'd knock you down from your rank as Queen of the Obelisk dorm. And none of us really took her seriously at the time. But I guess she really did mean it. Anyway, to make a long story short, I caught her in the computer room today making one of the pictures. It was so horrifying…I didn't know what to do at first. Thankfully, I don't think she saw me. But I don't know what to do…I can't tell an adult. It looks too real. You could get expelled! Besides, it's her word against mine. There's nothing I can do. And she didn't make them using the school's computer. She used her laptop; she just hooked it up to the school's internet connection. I'm really sorry this happened to you. And I know you're going through a rough time. You always look so sad!"

"Oh, Mindy," Alexis assured, gripping the brunette's shaking arms. "It's all right; you did the right thing by telling me. It's going to be Ok."

"I don't know what to do now," Mindy sniffed, "I feel so bad for avoiding you. But you've got to understand…I wasn't mad at you. I was afraid you needed your space. And now…I know that those rumors weren't true. You didn't do anything they said you did…I'm sorry for believing them."  
"I do forgive you, Mindy. I understand." she said sympathetically, hugging her friend, "You're really sweet. I'm glad you told me. And don't worry about Katiann. I'll take care of her." She grimaced at this last part.

"Really?" Mindy sniffed, "Are you sure you don't want help?"

"Believe me; I can take care of myself. Don't worry about it. We're best friends so I don't want you to get involved in my business and end up being hurt. Everything's going to be just fine; I promise."

"Aww, Alexis, thank you! You're such a good friend. But if you need help…"

Alexis smiled sadly down at her friend and shook her head. Before anything more could be said, however, Chazz called out to her.

"Alexis."

She turned around to see him standing behind her, frowning slightly.

"Oh, hi, Chazz," she mumbled, shamefully looking down at her boots. Color flushed her cheeks.

Chazz stepped over to her. "Mindy, can you leave? Lexi and I need to be alone."

Mindy blushed. "Oh, Ok. I guess I'll see you later, Lex." She gave Alexis a quick hug, then walked away.

"I saw that little scene with Jaden."

She froze, unable to speak for a moment. Much to her dismay, he sat down. It was apparent that he wasn't going to leave anytime soon. In fact, it looked like he was going to have a rather long talk with her. Begrudgingly, she sat next to him.

"Do you want to go out with him?"

"Yes." she answered truthfully, ashamed of herself.

"Then you shouldn't have gotten involved with me. You do realize that you can't just let it go?"

She nodded, then, felt a sudden rush of sympathy for him. The scene with Jaden probably had hurt him. He sure was taking it well, having had his heart ripped out and all.

She took his hand, but not out of sympathy. Maybe it was because she felt like she had to. Or maybe it was because…she liked him. Scarlet flushed her cheeks as she laced her fingers with his.

"Alexis, I wish I could say that you should go ahead and be with him. But I can't. You know why."

She nodded.

"I can't let you go now. I love you too much. We're sort of bound together now. And I'm sorry if it's not what you want, but hey, you should've thought of the consequences before you offered."

"Chazz," she sighed, "once again, you're jumping to conclusions. You don't know the full story. Yes, I like Jaden. Yes, I want to go out with him. But have you ever thought that maybe I want to be with you, too?"

He looked at her quizzically, waiting for her to explain herself.

"I made love to you. Yes, I like you. Yes, I want to be romantically involved. But I'm not sure I want a committed relationship with you. I don't know what I want yet. I want you, but I also want Jaden. I always wanted him in a way. I guess I did mean my actions--with you--at the time; I thought it was what I wanted. And now, I can't step back and take it slow. I can't be with you, but I can't not be with you either. Get it?"  
"Uhhhh, kinda." He squeezed her hand and leaned against her shoulder.

"I don't want anyone thinking I'm exclusively theirs. That goes for you as well as Jaden. Not that I'll make love to anyone else."

"What do you mean?"

She took a deep breath before cuddling closer, her warmth causing him to blush. "I mean, I'm going to only make love to you. I'm going to keep making love to you. You weren't just a one-night stand. I can't bring myself to do it with anyone else, or even think about it. You comfort me. I feel a certain way when I'm around you; a way that I've never felt around anyone else. I only want to have sex with you. We're in too deep now; we might as well leave it that way."  
"That's a horrible decision--"  
"I know--"

"--but I like it. Ah, who cares. Let's just keep going."

"Ok. But just so long as you don't think I'm a slut."

"You're anything but that." he said, kissing her on the cheek.

She blushed. "Chazz, I--"

"I know."

"Want to do it again?" She asked shyly.

His cheeks, as well, flushed with pink. "I can't think of anything I'd want to do more now." He gently rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs, looking her straight in the eyes. "I want to show you how much I love you."

"You have my Ok."

He smiled, and pressed his lips to hers. She kissed him back, her body sliding into his arms. Soon, they were lying in the grass, in each other's arms. He lay on top of her, and began to run his hands over her body, making her feel hot and dizzy.

He moved his lips to her neck, then opened his mouth and slid his tongue out, French-kissing her neck.

She trembled, and let him gently nibble her neck. "That feels good."

"Oh, that's nothing compared to what I'm going to do to you later." He said, winking at her mischievously.

She smiled at him. "You go ahead. From this point on, you can do whatever you want to me. I'm yours, at least, in that sense."

She knew, at this point, she'd crossed the line; however, she didn't care. They were lovers now, and no side relationships, jealous girls, or fake porn on the Internet could stop that. Chazz would love her no matter what. And that's all that mattered to her.

* * *

**Please RxR and tell me if it was any better this go around. I have my anon reviews on, so you can tell me if you like it better. **

**Next time: What will Jaden think when he finds out that Alexis has been messing around with his rival? Will Katiann do anything more? And Zane is about to give Alexis the surprise of her life.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for reading thus far. And, oh, as a warning, I'll be mixing some first and second season elements as well as Japanese and English dub stuff. But, hey, it's fanfic. And I want things to happen a certain way. As for the problems, it's only going to get worse from here...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own GX.**

* * *

Chapter 3:

Alexis giggled in the dark of the room, interrupting the silence. She knew she should by no means be doing this again; however, she found herself unable to refrain. Besides, it had been weeks since she'd felt so happy. She'd never felt so right as she did then, with Chazz lying on top of her, his mouth buried in her hair, kissing and nibbling her ear.

She giggled again. "Stop, you're tickling me."

"Sorry." He pushed himself closer.

Color flushed her cheeks, and she broke into a sweat. She couldn't speak for several minutes as she tried to catch her breath. She felt hot and feverish.

She clutched him tighter, her nails digging into his back, leaving small red streaks. He winced a little at the gesture.

"Stop killing me." She gasped.

"Sorry. Can't…help it…"

"Can't talk?"

He failed to respond.

She figured he couldn't say much because he felt too good. It pleased her, yet also disturbed her.

Finally, he managed to choke out, "I'm killing you? You're killing me."  
A wave of dizziness overcame her. She dug her nails deeper in his skin, clenching her teeth and squeezing her eyes shut.

"You're dirty." she told him.

"I could say the same for you."

"I'm not a whore."

"I know."

"I'm not your personal whore, either."  
"I know."

"You're a man of few words."

He couldn't respond. All he did was cling tighter. She began to feel as though she couldn't breathe at all.

He moved his mouth down to her breasts, and kissed them. She bristled, but didn't object. He ever so innocently slid his tongue out, and began French-kissing them.

"Chazz, must you?"

"Mm-hm."

"Eww, Chazz. You're nasty." She was laughing despite herself, though.

"Shhh." he hissed.

"I can't help it. It tickles."

"You're too ticklish. Someone will hear us if we aren't quiet." he admonished.

"At least we're not being all noisy about this."  
"It's really hard not to be." he informed her.

"Mmmm, it sure is. Why are you so good?"

He shrugged, but didn't stop doing what he was doing. Neither did he stop kissing her.

She lay still for a minute, her heart thumping painfully against her ribs. She twisted her leg around his, and kicked it up for him. He shut his eyes and looked to be in ecstasy.

He pulled his mouth from her breast for a moment. "Don't stop."

"Do you think I want to?"  
"No."

"Kick it up for me."

"But then it'll be over sooner, right?"

"I don't know, maybe. Maybe not. Just play your cards right." She teased.

"That was lame."

"You're lame."

She clasped her arms about his neck, pulling his face down and setting her mouth to his, hard. They kissed passionately for awhile, feeling hotter. Then, he slid his tongue in her mouth again. She thought she was going to die.

She figured they must look pretty pathetic right then, going at it like they could never be satisfied. Oh, but he was satisfying her, in ways she'd never thought a man could satisfy her before. She had never thought she'd had those needs until he'd begun to relieve them.

Or maybe their actions had created new needs in her. She wasn't sure. All she knew was that she was getting herself in too deep. She almost didn't care. After all, he was not only satisfying her, but he was also healing her emotional hurt and depression. She didn't like to admit it, but she felt as though she needed him.

At the same time, however, she feared she was playing him. She knew it wasn't exactly like that, but the matter of the fact was, she had always liked Jaden. Yes, she had feelings for Chazz. Yes, she wanted more than anything to be with Chazz and stay like that forever. But, at the same time, there was this small nagging feeling lingering in the back of her mind, admonishing her of her sinful actions. She quickly pushed the guilt out of her mind.

"We're not going to be able to stop." he told her, burying his face in her breasts.

She stroked his silky black hair, slipping individual spikes between her fingers. "I know."

"We'd better hope you don't get pregnant."

"I won't. Just so long as you get me some birth control by next time."

"I will. I mean, I don't want a kid. I mean, not now. We're way too young. Maybe one day I'll start a family. Hopefully, with you?" His eyes practically begged her.

She laughed nervously. "Well..."

She toyed with his hair, wrapping it around her fingers. She felt more guilt than she'd ever felt, looking into those pleading, innocent onyx eyes of his.

"I don't know. We'll see." She found herself telling him.

She patted him on the head, and pressed his face against her heart. He closed his eyes, listening to the rapid beating of her heart. He nuzzled his cheek against her breast, and embraced her closer.

"I really want to marry you."

She blushed, yet was startled by his statement. What guy would want to marry a girl and support her if he could get what he wanted with no commitment and no obligations? It made little sense to her. Nevertheless, she was flattered--and impressed.

"Why?" she asked, pretending as though it was of little importance.

"Because...I love you."

She looked down at the youngest Princeton, sympathy in her golden brown eyes. She would have to tell him how she felt. She would have to be honest with him. Only, she hoped she wouldn't break his heart.

"Chazz, I'm confused."

"How so?"

She ran her fingers through his hair, feeling anxious. He gently bit her breast, then gave it a tiny kiss. This gesture sent shivers up and down her spine. She shoved closer against his thin, toned body.

"I want to be with you," she admitted, "but at the same time, I don't. I want to keep doing this; I feel like I should, like I owe you. But at the same time, I feel like I belong to Jaden. I don't want to belong to anyone, exactly, I-I- just...I don't know. Never mind."

He gazed up into her eyes, worried. She avoided eye contact, feeling ashamed again. She felt cold and lonely, even though she was engulfed in his strong, warm arms. She pulled him up so that they were level with one another again. Cuddling against him, she pushed her head under his chin, feeling his warm pulse against her nose. She felt him breathing softly, his face in her hair, his lips pressing her temple in a gentle kiss.

Just as it seemed like they were becoming all the more intimate, going from passionate to gentle and easy, there was a sharp knock on the door.

Alexis jumped, and clung to Chazz.

"What do you want?" Chazz snapped, irritated about being interrupted.

Alexis was amazed at how normal he sounded, when just a few seconds earlier, his voice had been strained into a hoarse, almost whiny, whisper.

"It's me." came Zane's voice.

"What do you want?" Chazz barked, repeating his previous statement. He sounded vicious.

"Calm down." Zane said coolly, "I just want to talk to you about Alexis."

Chazz and Alexis exchanged a glance, still lying in a compromising position.

"I'm trying to sleep, mind you." Chazz snapped. He sounded angry, but his expression was panicked.

"Look, it won't take long. I just need some information..."

"What makes you think I'd know?"

Zane sighed in exasperation. "Because you're the one always hiding and eavesdropping on people's conversations. You know most anything that goes on here."

"Watch it, buddy, I'm not a gossip. And I don't eavesdrop. I just sit around, minding my own business, and here comes the world spilling their secrets at my feet. It's not my fault they're loose in the lips."

"Well, still," Zane began to sound annoyed, "did you know...wait. I can't say it in the hall. Someone might be listening. I need to come in."

"Go ask Atticus." It was clear he was beginning to lose his cool.

Alexis' expression softened, hearing her brother's name. Remembering the trouble he was in, she snuggled closer to Chazz and sniffed. His muscles tensed as well and he trembled in anxiety. He sure could be dramatic. A little too much for her taste. She figured one day he'd die of a heart attack due to his apprehension.

"I can't ask Atticus. He's on her side. I mean, he's beating people up for her sake. Now, Chazz," here he sighed heavily and tiredly, "please let me in."

"No."

"Why are you so determined to not let me in? Are you doing something bad in there?"

"No," his voice faltered, "I'm just...tired. So go away."

"Chazz, open this door right now." The doorknob twisted. Thankfully, it was locked.

"Oh, shit." Chazz hissed, watching with apprehension as the doorknob kept turning.

Alexis stiffened under Chazz. If he caught them, they'd be expelled. He'd surely tell on them.

Seeing that the door wouldn't open, he finally gave up. "Ok, I'll talk to you later."

Hearing his footsteps echoing in the hall, Chazz and Alexis breathed in a sigh of relief. Both were trembling and hanging on to each other for dear life, their eyes wide.

Chazz laughed nervously. "That was close."  
"Sure was."

They quickly finished. He slid off of her, relieved yet also disappointed.

"I'd better go." Alexis whispered, holding the covers up over her breasts, "I mean, before he decides to come back. Or go to my room."

Chazz nodded. "I wish you could stay..."  
"I know. I'll see you tomorrow, 'k?"  
"Ok."

He put his finger under her chin, and kissed her lips. She kissed him back, and gave him a hug, blushing feeling bare skin against bare skin.

After dressing, she peered out the door and looked both ways. Seeing the hall was empty, she darted out. She held her boots and walked silently, taking care not to make any noise. To her horror, she saw Zane standing at his door, his back turned to her. Immediately, she took notice of his attire. Why was he wearing so much black? Was he upset? Heart thumping, she froze. After all, she couldn't let him see her. If he did, he would know immediately what had been going on. It had been far too clear that Chazz was up to no good. She could've died.

She whipped her head around, looking for an escape. There was none. Zane started to turn around. There was no place to run, no place to hide. She stood there helplessly.

"Alexis? What are you doing here?"

"I came...to see you..." she quickly improvised.

"Why are you holding you boots?"

"I didn't want Crowler to catch me. He might expel me. Or do other things to me. But then again, he's gay, so no need to worry, huh?" she babbled. She mentally slapped herself at how cheesy she sounded.

Zane raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Uh-huh. Well, never mind that. Say, what's that?"

He took her chin in his hands. She squeezed her eyes shut, mentally cursing Chazz. He examined the red marks on her neck and ear.

"What happened?"

"I ran into a tree branch on my way here. You know how dark it is out there." She was surprised at how convincing she sounded now. A strange, and creepy, sense of calm washed over her.

"Oh. Ok...Alexis, can I talk to you?"

"About what?"

"The latest 'photo.'"

"Zane!" she said in horror, "You look at those?"  
He looked embarrassed. "I just needed to see if the rumors were true. But this last one tells me that someone's pulling your leg."

"Which one?"

"I have no clue how Kabichan16 did it, but she put up a picture of you and me having sex."

She stared at him.

"And I know that didn't happen. So, the others mustn't be true, either. I'm sorry for doubting you, Alexis."

She just nodded. Then, decided it was safe to bring up the question of his attire. "Zane, what's up with your new clothes?"  
"Oh." his expression suddenly became gloomy. "It's nothing."

"No, tell me why you're dressed like an emo." she demanded boldly.

"No reason. Just mind your own business, Alexis."

She was surprised at how cold his tone was, and the angry, indifferent manner in which he looked down upon her.

"Alexis, I will respect you. However..." he paused for a moment, challenging her to defy him. "...However," he continued, "I am not obliged to let you know what goes on in my life. You see, you're like my little sister. I love you, but I expect you to give me my space."

"That doesn't sound like something the Zane I know would say." she challenged.

"Mark my words," he told her, grabbing her gently around the throat, his voice holding an eerie calm, "if you try to interfere in my affairs, I will make certain that you're sorry. Do we have an understanding?"  
She gulped, and nodded, "I understand, Zane. But you don't have to be so harsh on me. I would've backed down had you simply asked me to. There's no need to threaten me."

"You could never understand entirely." he informed her, a cold, uncaring smirk curving wickedly on his lips. "So just keep your distance, and we'll be fine. Ok?"  
She nodded, confused. He let her go, then stormed down the hall, his black trench coat flowing dramatically behind him. She watched as he disappeared into the night, concerned.

Dawn would bring the beginning of a new power. Hell Kaiser was rising, yet nobody except Alexis knew. Nothing could prepare Duel Academy for the evil that was to come.

* * *

**A/N: Oooo, cliffhanger. Just as I said, I know I'm mixing seasons and Japanese and dub, but I wanted to. I'm not ignorant about Yu-Gi-Oh. I have every episode of season 2 and season 3 thus far, and I'm buying all the DVDs for season 1. I know what happens when. But I only watch the dub, so please don't give any spoilers away to me. I hear about Japanese stuff, and I wanna watch the Japanese version, but I don't have time. Anyway, I didn't know what else to call Zane other than Hell Kaiser. Oh well. **

**Next time: (Ok, this time Jaden WILL start to wonder if something is going on between Chazz and Alexis) Jaden stumbles upon Chazz and Alexis in a heated moment in the classroom. Someone goes missing, and everyone forms a search party. But then, something happens to Alexis. Will she be able to be saved? **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Another redone chapter. --;; These are SO hard to rewrite. Oh well, I try.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own GX.**

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Chapter 4:

When Alexis entered Professor Banner's classroom early in the morning, Chazz was already there. She ignored him momentarily as she thought anxiously about Zane's behavior. Swallowing hard, she put her things down and took her seat. How could she have let Zane become this? And how come she hadn't noticed as much as she should've? Perhaps it was because he hadn't seemed to have had a wardrobe change until the previous night. But now that his attitude had changed, would that mean that they weren't friends anymore? She really hoped she could approach him on the matter.

In the meantime, though, her thoughts were disrupted by Zane's entrance. He said nothing at first, only glanced at her and set his things down. She noted with surprise that he was back to wearing the uniform. So it was a secret? Now, more than ever, she had to talk to him.

"Um, hi, Zane," she said quietly.

He turned and looked coldly down at her. "Good morning, Alexis," he replied tersely.

Before she could utter another sound, he had left the classroom. She sat there, momentarily stunned. Chazz looked in her direction, puzzled as well. Before he could say anything, she got to her feet and chased after Zane.

"Zane Truesdale!" She yelled, racing out to the middle of the hall, "Come back here!"

He stopped dead in his tracks and turned, giving her a look that sent icy chills up and down her spine. He remained silent.

She gulped, now nervous. "What I mean is…Zane? Um, can we talk?"

"About what?" he sent her a warning look.

"About….well, last night."

He scowled, "There is no need to talk about that." With that, he turned back around. Then, he spoke again.

"Don't bring this up again. And don't tell anyone. That incident is to be kept confidential, only for us to know. Do we have an understanding?"

"Yes," she said, blinking in confusion, "but, I want to know….do you hate me? What have I done? I mean, we're still friends, right?"

He cast an angry glare from over his shoulder. "I have no need for you, anymore, Alexis. Besides, what could you ever do for me? You abandoned me. Couldn't you tell I was in agony? Apparently not. All you could ever talk about was yourself and how hurt you were by your brother's disappearance and the things you'd said to him and…about his condition. Didn't you ever stop to think about the feelings of someone other than yourself? I tried to be understanding, but it proved to be too difficult. I wish to explain no more to a person such as you. I hope that my explanation was sufficient enough to quiet you."

He left her standing alone in the middle of the hall. She shook her head in disbelief, and re-entered the classroom. She couldn't comprehend his behavior. Nor could she understand her own feelings. She was cold, hurt, broken. How could he have said those things about her? What could've made him so cruel and indifferent? She wasn't selfish, now, was she? After all, Atticus was her brother, as well as her best friend. Not to mention since he'd returned from the Shadow Riders, he'd developed severe health problems. Of course she was going to worry about him! Zane was in no position to judge her so harshly. Maybe some of what he'd said was true, but not all of it. He'd certainly exaggerated a great deal.

Chazz watched her with curious eyes as she sat back down. He went over to her and sat in the empty seat next to her.

"What happened?"

She looked up solemnly. "Nothing. Nothing happened."

"Alexis, was he mean to you?" Chazz asked angrily, frowning.

She shook her head. Then, the hurt of losing such a close friend to such a hideous attitude began to settle in. She looked up at Chazz again and tried not to get upset. He reached his arms out towards her. She stared at him reluctantly, then finally gave in and eased into his embrace.

"Chazz, you don't understand-- " she began.  
"Yes, I do. I know what it's like to lose a friend. Remember, I lost my brothers. It hurt, but I'm fine now. It happens….it's Ok."

"It's not like that." She tried to tell him, "I'm fine. Nothing happened."

He hugged her tighter. "You can tell me."

"No, I don't want to."

"Oh, come on. Trust me."

"No, I don't want to. Now leave me alone about it. I don't want to tell you. Just accept it and give up."

He backed down. "Ok, Ok. But if you ever want to talk, I'm here. 'K?"

She nodded, feeling awkward.

They sat still for a few minutes, just holding each other. Finally, she relaxed and snuggled against his shoulder.

"Chazz?"

"Hm?"

"Did you get the, um, you know…?"

"Yeah."

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a thin box, then dropped it into her lap. She picked it up and slipped it into her purse.

"How'd you get it?"

He smirked. "I stole it from my mom."

She stared at him. "You're kidding right?"

"No. She doesn't care. Besides, we can't let anyone know about this, right?"

She nodded, then said softly, with a slight smirk curving her lips, "We'll need it tonight."

"Tonight, too? You sure are high maintenance."

"You don't understand! This time, I need it, because I'm-- " she quickly silenced herself before she spilled her feelings to him.

He hugged her again. "There you go, hiding things from me again. You're so careful not to let anyone know too much about you."

"Shut up. Not like you wouldn't know." She said, feeling ticked.

"Yeesh, Lex, chill."

She sighed heavily, then looked up at him. Depression and stress overtook her again. She needed his comfort.

Without warning, she leaned up and touched her lips to his. He tensed, then relaxed, melting his mouth into hers. They wrapped their arms even more tightly around each other. He ran his tongue briefly over her lips. She opened her mouth and let him slide his tongue in. She, as well, slid her tongue into his mouth. After a moment of kissing, she slid on his lap, facing him, one leg placed on either side of him. She scooched up against him, letting him pull her into a deeper kiss. He ran his hand up her leg and up her skirt.

Right before anything more could occur, Jaden walked in. He stopped and stared at the two lovers making-out passionately in the empty classroom.

"Alexis!" he gasped, "What are you doing?!"

She jumped, and slid off of Chazz's lap quickly, causing him to involuntarily shiver. "J-J-Jaden! I-I--"

"Chazz, leave my girlfriend alone!"

"WHAT?!!!!" Chazz snapped, "YOUR girlfriend? Excuse me, but last time I checked, she was fair game. Please, slacker, like she would ever go out with a flunkie like you!"

"But she said she liked me. She said she wanted to be with me! Basically, she told me she was my girlfriend."

Alexis stared. She had assumed he was too dimwitted to think this. Apparently, she had been wrong. Deep inside, she had known it had been a bad idea to confess her feelings, especially since she'd already given herself to Chazz. She had only made things worse. Jaden had jumped to conclusions, although he was clueless about everything, especially love.

"I love her!" Chazz argued, "And no, she never said that she was your girlfriend. Just 'cause a girl says she likes you doesn't mean she wants to be your girlfriend, idiot."

"Well, I may be wrong on that, but I'm not wrong in knowing that you don't lead someone on. You don't tell someone you like them then go and make-out with someone else!"

"She came to me first, anyway." Chazz snapped, "You lost your chance because you were too stupid to see she liked you right away."

"Well, I don't care if she did go to you first. She told me we could be together. Well, she didn't say that, but I know she meant that. Besides, I love her too! Just because my grades aren't as great as yours doesn't mean that I won't be good to her."

"Why, you little bas--" began Chazz.

"Ok, boys, cut it out," Alexis snapped, "I'm not going out with either of you. So calm down! Don't start a fight."

Jaden scowled. "But, Lex, I thought you liked me! You said--"

"I know," she said, rubbing her temples as a headache began to develop. "I'm sorry, Jaden. I was wrong to have said that."

"So, you don't like me?"

"No, I do, it's just…"

"It's just you let Chazz have your first kiss instead."

She sighed, then blushed, knowing what else Chazz had gotten.

"And you could've gotten expelled for the way you were kissing him just now," Jaden pointed out, "Even I know that."

She groaned, holding her head in her hand. "I know. I'm sorry. I've just been so upset…"

Jaden sighed. "It's Ok, Lex, I forgive you."

"And don't get me wrong," she babbled, not wanting to lose him, "I do like you. A lot. I want to be with you…."

She cringed, looking over at Chazz's broken and bitter expression. He started to walk away, then changed his mind.

"….but, I'm not sure yet…."

"…….Ok……."

"So, do you understand?"

He nodded, smiling a little sadly. "Lex, if you want to be with him instead…"

"No, I don't!" she blurted, then mentally slapped herself.

"So you're leading me on? You're using me completely?" Chazz challenged, "I mean, I knew you were using me somewhat, but I didn't think it was--"

"Chazz…." She said tiredly. "I--"

Before she could dig herself into an even deeper hole, though, Chumley came in the room. Thankfully, what he said next interrupted the glare-fest that was about to turn into a fight between Chazz and Jaden.

"Have you guys heard? Sy's missing!"

"WHAT?!" all three exclaimed in unison.

"Yeah, I know," Chumley panted, "And nobody can find Zane either!"

"Oh, it's probably nothing." Chazz scoffed, folding his arms over his chest. "Syrus is probably weeping in the bathroom or stuffed in a locker and Zane's probably off somewhere being boring."

"Chazz, this is serious." Alexis reminded him. "Please don't be a jerk now, of all times."

Before Chazz could respond, Chumley broke in again. "He really is missing, I swear by the grilled cheese gods. I went to go find him a few minutes ago, and he was gone!"

"Did you check somewhere other than the refrigerator?" Chazz asked rudely.

Alexis stomped on his foot. "Silence!"

"Ow," he whined.

"Guys, be serious," said Chumley, "Something's not right! He wasn't in the bathroom, the dorm room, the cafeteria…..he wasn't anywhere on campus! I called his cell phone, and--"

"Syrus has a cell phone?" Chazz interrupted in disbelief.

Chumley glowered at him. "Shut up, Chazz."

"I know you don't like him," Jaden said, "but please try to be a bit more respectful, bro."

"Whatever."

"Anyway, I called his cell phone. He didn't pick up, but I heard it ringing and followed it. I looked behind some bushes and, well…." He held up a severely scratched cell phone.

"It looks like someone was desperately trying to text or something," Alexis commented, looking at the scratches across the buttons and screen.

"And look at this."

Chumley turned it to the back. There was a bit of blood and a small tuft of blue hair caught in the battery slide.

"Chumley, you moron," Chazz barked, "You should've called campus security! You just tampered with the evidence."

"Shut up, Chazz!" Chumley bellowed, tears streaming down his chubby cheeks, "I just want Sy back. I don't care what I have to do."

"We should go look for him!" Jaden suggested, or rather, commanded.

"Well, it's the least we can do," Alexis agreed, "Besides, Chazz, we don't really know if anything horrible happened to Syrus. It could be a misunderstanding. We should search for him first. Then, if we don't find him, we should go to the police."

"What if he's lying dead in a ditch somewhere?" Chumley sobbed, "We have to go to the police."

"But what if he showed up just as we had gotten the police involved? That'd be one big mess. No, we should look first." Alexis told him.

"I think we should go to the teachers." Jaden argued.

"No, we--" Alexis began.

"SYYYYYYY!!!!" Chumley wailed.

"SHUT UP!!!!" Chazz screamed, "All of you just shut up! Calm down. Let's just go look for the shrimp. If we don't find him in forty-five minutes, we get help. Got it?"

The rest of the group stared at him, then, finally nodded.

They recruited several others, including Atticus and Bastion, to help them. Then, they searched the campus for Syrus.

After enduring more bickering between Jaden and Chazz, Alexis finally wandered off from the rest of the group. She was walking by a large pond when she thought she saw something moving beyond her reflection. She bent down to investigate. For a moment, she thought it had been her imagination. All was still. All she saw was her face staring back at her with glassy eyes.

Suddenly, something black shot out of the water and dragged her in. She struggled, thrashing and kicking as she went under. She let out a final cry before being silenced by the choking water. Her scream echoed.

"That sounded like Lex!" Jaden announced to the rest of the group.

"No, duh, let's go!"

Chazz raced down the path ahead of the others, scrambling through briars that tore at his jacket. He skidded to a halt at the waters' slightly agitated edge and looked around. He peered into the water, thinking he saw something floating beneath the surface. Slowly, a Duel Monsters card surfaced.

With a heart racing with dread, he reached down and retrieved it. He stared numbly down at Cyber Blader.

Instantly, his adrenaline kicked in. Without hesitation, he tore his jacket and boots off and leapt into the frigid water. He swam through, looking desperately for a sign of his beloved. The water stung at his eyes, but he didn't care. He felt around for her. She was nowhere to be found.

He surfaced and ducked down at least ten times, each time losing more hope. She was sure to have run out of oxygen by then. He refused to give up.

Meanwhile, the group had wandered into various places, trying to find Chazz and Alexis. Chazz had taken off so quickly, they didn't know where he had gone. They could only hope that everything was all right.

Even though he wasn't religious, Chazz began to pray for Alexis to be alive. He wasn't sure if she was, at this point. He doubted it.

At that moment, his hand groped a limp body. He grabbed it out of the shadows. Seeing Alexis in his grip, he said a silent prayer of gratitude. He pulled her to the surface and dragged her to the shore. There was no sign of the being that had snatched her.

He laid her on the bank and pressed his ear to her cold, wet shirt. There was silence.

"Shit." He muttered.

He quickly tilted her head back and began giving her mouth-to-mouth, hoping that might stimulate her systems to work. When he didn't get a response, he gave her CPR, until he got her heart beating again. After that, he had to keep giving her mouth-to-mouth to try to get her to breathe again.

She began to cough, water pouring from her mouth. She looked up at him, chest heaving hard.

"Baby?"

"I'm right here." He hugged her close in his arms. "Are you Ok?"  
She nodded weakly. "I'll be all right. Thank-you." She kissed his cold, wet cheek.

He placed his jacket around her shivering shoulders. "I was so afraid I was going to lose you."

"Well, you didn't. But, tell me, did you see what happened?"

He shook his head.

"I swear I saw something, something like a monster! I don't think it was; perhaps it was a person? I'm not sure. I just know that it scared me to death."

She pressed her trembling body against him, absorbing his warmth. He only held her tighter and pressed his lips to the side of her head.

At that moment, the rest of the group found them.

"Where were you?" Atticus asked, worried, "We looked all over for you…" then, seeing his sister, he gasped. "Sis, you Ok?"

Alexis nodded, cuddling closer to her rescuer. "I'm Ok. Thanks to Chazz."  
"What happened?" Jaden asked, rushing over to them.

"Something snatched me."

"But you're Ok?"

"Yes," she sighed in exasperation.

Chazz picked her up. "We'd better get her to Ms. Fountaine, anyway, just to be on the safe side. And we'd better notify campus security about Syrus. I have a feeling that someone's watching us. It's not safe to look for him on our own."

The rest agreed and took Alexis to the nurse's office. Afar off in the shadows, a lone black-clad figure watched with dismay.

"She knows too much," he said into his cell phone, "And Syrus didn't serve as much of a distraction. You were wrong, just as you always are. They'll only get more suspicious."

"Then you know what to do," a man's voice said, "Since pulling away from her didn't work, then you must seduce her. Get her to fall in love with you."

"That's a stupid idea. It's too late. The damage is done. She knows something big is up, and I can't just turn my attitude around one hundred eighty degrees."  
"Oh, but, you don't have to." The man's voice assured him, "All you need is a way to scare her into submission and admiration."  
"In other words, I threaten her?"  
"Use force."

"That, I would do. But, it seems there is a problem."

"And what's that?"  
"Chazz Princeton. Jaden is harmless. He's too clueless to catch on to anything unless it smacks him in the face. Chazz, on the other hand, is sharper. He'll do anything for her. And they've bonded already."

"You mean--"

"Yes, she's not a virgin. I know because I overheard her talking to Chazz. And if they've been having sex, then no doubt he's going to be around a lot, not to mention extremely protective. He loves her to pieces. Something must be done."

"Rid of him."

"That's my point. How? It'd be too obvious."

"Ah, therein lies the dilemma," the man laughed wickedly, "Kill two lovebirds with one stone. Understand?"

"You want me to take them both out? I've already tried to kill her. Chazz only came to her rescue. "

"Don't you see? They come as a package, Hell Kaiser. There's no way that you can rid of one without the other finding out and blabbing. Shut them up before it starts."

"I'm telling you, it's obvious. Don't be so rash."

"Ah, but I haven't even gotten to the good part yet. That's the problem, Zane, you're too hasty. You're impatient. Try to take things a bit slower."

"Get to the point."

"You don't have to kill them off quickly. Do it slowly, gradually. Understand now?"

A wicked smirk curved the edge of Zane's mouth upward. "Oh, I understand, now. Just so long as I get to do things my way…"

He hung up, his coat blowing in the wind. Chazz would be in for a nasty surprise. And he would get to Alexis. That was the way to do it. First he'd be her lover, then he'd be her murderer. She didn't stand a chance.

* * *

**Next time: Syrus has yet to be found. Zane eludes himself. And Chazz hasn't come out of his room in three days. Is it because of what Alexis does with Jaden? And is Jaden only going so far from grief of losing his best friend? **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I feel like I'm digging myself into a deeper and deeper hole with this story. I'm just not getting it quite the way I want it. I wanna turn it around somewhat. Even though I've revised it, I'm not sure…I need to know if there's too much dialogue. I think there is. However, I like the plot, and I'm not sure exactly where to go from here. I need some input from my readers. So if anyone who has read up to this point would kindly review (it can be constructive criticism) then I would appreciate it. There's too much going on at once, and I think that the problems have been introduced; I'm going to slow it down a bit. (Groan) this is going to be one long story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own GX.**

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Chapter 5:

Alexis sat in the hot springs with Jaden for the third day in a row. She knew she shouldn't be, but he needed to relax after all the stress, as well as she did. So far, everything had been quiet, too quiet. Chazz hadn't even called her to babble on and on about his undying love for her. Somehow, this bothered her. Was he tired of her already? She really hoped not. Perhaps after she and Jaden were finished she would go see him.

Jaden put his arm around her, stirring her from her thoughts. His brown eyes were clouded over with sadness, his face downcast, an expression he almost never wore. She cuddled up to him, blushing as she felt his bare skin.

"Jaden, are you still thinking about Sy?"

"Yeah."

"He'll be all right." Without thinking, she gently touched her lips to his cheek.

Blushing, he told her, "There's no trace of him, except the cell phone. I'm really worried. He might be…"

"He's not." Alexis assured him, massaging his tensed up shoulders and looking sympathetic. "I mean, my brother was gone for a long time. I thought I'd never see him again. But he came back. So will Syrus."

"Alexis, you don't know that."

"Everything's gonna be Ok." She kissed his cheek again.

He leaned back and let her hold him. "Well, Ok, I'll be optimistic about it. I mean, anything could happen."

"That's right. And don't think that I'm not worried either. It's just…I don't like to think that something like that might've happened to him."

Jaden buried his cheek in her hair, hugging her tightly as she snuggled up to him. "Lex, can we talk about something?"

"Of course."  
"Why were you all over Chazz? And why have you been all over me for the past three days? I'm confused…"

"So am I," she thought.

"…And…."

"And what?"

"Well, no offense, but it's kinda….well, not very nice..."

She grimaced. "Jaden, I don't mean to be like that."

"Well, sorry, but…it's true. I know you don't mean it."

"But I'm not a slut."

"I know."

"So, please don't indirectly refer to me as such."

"Ok. I'm really sorry…"

"Don't worry about it."

"Now, will you answer my questions?"

She sighed heavily. "It's nothing you could understand, Jaden. Besides, I already told you that I like both of you."

"But you can't have both of us at once, going out or not. You have to choose."

She bit her lip. "Can I have a few days to make up my mind?"

"Uh, sure…" But he didn't sound certain about it at all.

Alexis watched as hurt filled his eyes once more. She knew why.

"You don't know what it's like to lose your best friend." Jaden told her.

She looked him straight in the eyes. "Actually, I do."

Jaden didn't ask her to explain. He only started to tilt his head down, moving his face closer to hers.

"Alexis, please don't choose him. I know he says he loves you, but so do I. And I'll treat you better than he ever could."

He set his mouth to hers in a gentle kiss. She was stunned. Automatically, she pressed her lips to his as well, and ran her hand up his back and into his hair. He kissed her for several minutes before touching his tongue to her lips.

She wasn't sure about what she should do. Yes, she liked Jaden, but this was totally out of character for him. Was it because he was hurting? And what about Chazz? Just thinking about him made stabbing guilt pierce her heart. She began to realize how much this would hurt him. Hell, it hurt her. The more she thought about the way he looked at her, as though she were a goddess, and the way he treated her, and the more she thought about the way he talked to her, considering her feelings in everything he did, the more guilt she felt. She'd said she wasn't Chazz's girlfriend, but she was his lover, and he was entitled to some exclusive right over her. No, she couldn't do this to Chazz. Not with his rival. She'd made up her mind. She had to tell Jaden the truth.

She denied him, and pulled away quickly. "Jaden, I'm sorry for leading you this far. I like you a lot--I always have--but I can't be with you. That'd be wrong. It's unfair to Chazz. You see, the truth is, I really, really, really like Chazz. We're not exactly boyfriend and girlfriend, but we're sort of an item. I'm sorry for carrying on like this with you for three days, but I can't do it anymore. I don't belong to you. And who said Chazz wouldn't treat me well? He'd do anything for me and give me anything I needed, no, anything I _wanted_. I'm so sorry, I've made a terrible mistake, I've got to go."

She climbed out of the hot springs, grabbed a second towel to dry off, and hurried down the path. She quickly changed, then rushed to the Obelisk boys' dorm to tell Chazz everything.

As tears brimmed in her eyes, she wondered why she felt so hurt over this. Why did she feel so much guilt? And why did she feel as though her heart had been torn to a million pieces when she thought of the reaction Chazz would have when he heard about this?

"No," she thought, shaking her head, "I'm not falling in love with him. I really can't be…."

She dwelled on the feeling a bit more before deciding in relief, "I'm just closely bonded to him now, and I don't want to see him hurt. And after all that, breaking the bond by kissing Jaden was painful. Tearing away always is. Maybe I'm worried he won't forgive me. I have been awful cruel to him…"

She sadly thought about how, one moment, she acted head over heels in love with him and the next she was breaking his heart and screaming at him to shut up. If nothing else, she certainly was abusive. But she also felt as though she were a cheater, a liar, and a whore. She really hoped she could undo the damage.

She approached his door, now afraid to knock. Would he accept her? Would he forgive her? What if he was angry? And had he not called her because of what she'd been doing with Jaden? After all, he surely knew about them by then.

She tapped lightly and tentatively on the door. No response. She knocked louder. Still no response. She banged on the door.

"Chazz, please open up; it's me, Alexis…" she bit her lip and listened, heart thumping, waiting for a response.

When none came, she grew apprehensive. What if he had killed himself? She knew he was depressed. Maybe her tryst with Jaden had caused him to do himself in. Now, more than ever she had to get inside.

"Chazz!" she called, frantically twisting the doorknob.

She knew this was a serious violation of his privacy, but it didn't matter what he was doing because she needed to see that he was all right. Finally, she managed to twist the doorknob far enough for it to come open. She stepped inside the messy, darkened room, then shut the door quietly behind her.

"Chazz?" she whispered in the darkness, "Are you in here?"  
As her eyes adjusted, she noticed a figure slumped over the desk.

"Oh, God, please…don't let him be dead! He must've killed himself…" she thought, feeling sick.

She stepped over to him and laid a trembling hand on his shoulder. Gingerly, she shook him. He failed to respond. She gently took him in her arms and pulled him to the floor so she could inspect him. Much to her relief, she found that he was alive. However, her relief did not last long.

He was sweating, his breaths coming in short, labored gasps. She felt the inside of his neck, only to find his pulse beating rapidly. It was obvious that he'd been passed out for quite some time. She had never seen anybody so sick.

"Oh, Chazz," she murmured, stroking the back of her hand against his cheek, "Why do you always get into so much trouble?"

His cheek felt hot and damp against her cool hand. His cheeks were red while the rest of his face flushed. Due to his high fever, she decided to give him a cold bath to try to ease his symptoms.

She took him in the bathroom and stripped him, then placed him--with much difficulty--into the bathtub. She washed him and left him in the water for several minutes, giving him time to cool down.

"I'm really glad I came." She told him, stroking his wet, black hair, "I'm just sorry I didn't come sooner. I thought you were sulking. Oh, Chazz….if you were sick, why didn't you call me to come take care of you so you wouldn't have ended up like this? I would've done it, you know. Why didn't you call as soon as you started getting sick? Why didn't you do anything? Oh, you poor thing."

She pulled him out of the bathtub and dried him off. She dressed him only in his boxers, then put him to bed. Afterwards, she searched the cabinets until she found a thermometer, then checked his temperature.

Much to her relief, his temperature had subsided. He had resumed to breathing normally, and it seemed the worst was over. She shuddered to think about what could've become of him had she not discovered him.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again," she scolded him, even though he couldn't hear her.

Several minutes later, he began to stir. His onyx eyes opened half-way and he stared up in confusion at her.

"Alexis?" his voice was hoarser and raspier than usual.

"Chazz, you're Ok!" Despite the fact that he was ill, she threw her arms about his neck and squeezed, "I was so worried about you. Why didn't you call me?"

"I don't know. I just felt a little dizzy and a little sick to my stomach, so I went back to my room. I didn't think it was too big of a deal. Then I started feeling really bad, but I wanted to finish my homework before it got worse, so I just ignored it. Then I just felt really dizzy and I guess I blacked out."

She sighed and shook her head. "And all this happened over three days?"

"Three days? It happened in one day." He insisted.

"In that case, I guess you've been out cold for three days."

"Oh." He leaned back against the pillows, stunned.

"I'll get you some water." She rose to her feet and quickly fetched it for him, along with some food. He drank the water, but didn't eat much food.

"My stomach still hurts a lot." He told her, his face a bit green.

"You'll feel better if you eat."

"Alexis, I can't. I'm glad you came, but you should probably leave before you catch this."

"I've been here for an hour and a half. If I get it, I get it. Leaving now is not going to make much of a difference. I'm staying. You need me."

"Alexis, I-I--" he became shaky.

"Chazz, are you going to be Ok?" she asked in concern, "What's wrong?"

"I'm going to be sick…"

She grabbed a trash can and held it out just in time.

"I'm sorry," he choked between gags.

"No, don't be. It's Ok. I'm going to take care of you. I promise."

She brushed his hair out of his face as he continued to throw up. Finally, he finished and leaned back, panting.

She set the trash can in the bathroom and washed his face off with a wet washcloth. He looked up at her with pitiful eyes.

"Thanks, Lex."

"Hey, no problem."

"Are you sure you want to see me like this?" He hung his head in shame.

"I'd be crazy to leave you alone in this condition." She told him, "Now let me take care of you."

She got him some more water. "Keep it down. And don't drink it all at once," she warned.

She sat on the edge of his bed, and sighed. She wondered how this mystery illness could've come upon him so suddenly. It didn't make much sense. It was completely random. And he'd gotten so sick so fast! She wondered if it were food poisoning.

Wait, poisoning. That had to be it! Nobody got so sick so fast. And the way he'd described the symptoms. They were exactly the same ones Atticus had gotten when he was younger and had eaten the rat poison under the sink. In that case, it couldn't have been an accident. Someone wanted Chazz gone. Someone had poisoned him.

"No," she told herself, "I'm just being paranoid."

But the more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that he'd been poisoned. However, who was to say that he hadn't tried to do himself in? She couldn't be sure.

"Chazz, did you try to commit suicide?"

"No! Why would I do that?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you're depressed?"

"Well, I didn't."

"You didn't try to poison yourself?"

"No." he looked bewildered.

She bit her lip. "Are you sure? Are you telling me the truth?"

"Yes," he insisted.

"Ok." She said aloud, then thought, "Maybe I'm wrong. After all, who would poison Chazz? I mean, sure, not everyone loves him, but is there someone who actually hates him that much?"

She glanced over at him, trying to figure it out. She noticed that he was looking sick again. Hurriedly, she fetched the trash can, making it just in time.

She stayed up with him all night as he went through cycles of being sick and fainting. She had to make sure that he kept drinking, otherwise he'd become dehydrated. With the way he was throwing up, though, he couldn't keep anything down, and she wondered if she should go ahead and call Ms. Fountaine.

Mentally slapping herself, she realized she should've called Ms. Fountaine long ago, when she'd first discovered him. Oh, what a fool she was! Getting up, she headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" he asked weakly.

"To get the Ms. Fountaine. You're too sick. You're scaring me."

"No, don't do that! I'll be fine, just…don't leave me."

She looked back over at his pleading eyes and debated with herself. Finally, she relented.

"Well," she admitted, "you are better than you were."

"Yeah, so you don't need to bother."

"Ok." She sat back down and took his cold hand.

As he began to shiver, she pulled the blankets over him. Finally, not caring how sick he was or whether or not he threw up on her, she crawled in bed next to him. She wrapped her arms around him, trying to contain his violent shivering and keep him warm.

"I'm here for you," she told him, "So you don't ever have to worry about being alone or unattended again."

He blushed and allowed her to cuddle up to him, understanding what this meant. "Thank-you, Alexis."

She smiled and buried her face in his neck. "I'll take care of you forever. I promise."

He didn't respond. They only smiled and cuddled closer as they drifted off to sleep. Neither of them felt lonely anymore.

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**Aww, I liked this chap. The others kinda sucked. Anyway, I'm gonna keep writing. But it might be mid-week or next weekend before I update this one. Please review: )**

**Next time: Alexis skips classes to care for Chazz. She finally confesses about what she did with Jaden. How will he react? And how will Jaden react? **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I hope this story isn't as confusing anymore. I know I dropped some story lines, so this note is also to remind me to pick them back up again. Anyway, I'm thinking that sometime in the future, I will write another lemon scene, and it will be well worth your while… : 3 (yes, lemon scene! -- thus a cry of a huge pervert, namely me. Yeah, I'm a pervert.) Anyway, it's not supposed to be animalistic, so I'll let it go. And sorry, not this chap. Just a lime. Hope you enjoy: )**

**Disclaimer: I do not own GX.**

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Chapter 6:

Alexis woke up early the next morning to find herself still enveloped in Chazz's embrace. She blushed deeply and brushed him away. Yawning, she stood up to go take a shower. She hoped he wouldn't mind.

Unfortunately, she forgot to lock the door. And it took her a few minutes to get everything ready. In her search for the shampoo, she somehow managed to knock over a shelf of the medicine cabinet and make enough noise to wake the dead. She cringed as she put everything back into place. Then, she undressed herself.

Before she had time to get in the shower or even think, Chazz opened the door. She stared at him. Stupidly, he stared back.

"Have you ever heard of knocking?" she snapped, irritated.

"I-I'm sorry!" he stammered, dumbfounded. He blushed. "I didn't mean--I just heard a lot of noise and I--"

"Whatever, Chazz."

Irked, she ignored him and grabbed a towel.

"What are you doing?"

"What are YOU still doing here?" she retorted.

He blushed redder. "Uh, well, I…"

"I know why you're still here."

"You're not kicking me out."

She sighed heavily. "What do you want?"

"Um, well, I was kinda wondering if I could take a bath."

"Well, I'm about to." She told him.

"Yeah, I know. I guess what I meant was, um, I was wondering if I could take a bath…with…you."

"You're pathetic," she smirked, "You really don't know how to ask, do you? You're so worked up over me, you can't be seductive yourself. What are you thinking of pulling, anyway? You're freaking sick, for Pete's sake."

"I didn't mean I wanted to do something else," he said defensively, rolling his eyes and looking slightly ticked. "Yeesh."

She giggled a little. "Ok, Chazz, Ok. Come on."

"Are you pulling my leg?"

"No."

"So, it's not a trick?"

"Look, do you want to take a bath with me or not?"

"Wait a second, why are you suddenly so open to it? Aren't you going to smack me or something?"

"Why would I?" she asked dryly, "You can be such a loser, I swear. Duh, we've done worse. I don't mind. You've seen it all anyway."

"Uh, Ok."

"Go ahead, take it off, baby." She teased, catching her finger in the waistband of his boxers.

Blushing, he readily obliged. She found her own face getting hot seeing him naked.

"He's got one sexy body," she thought, then, cringing, "I really shouldn't think that now. He's recovering…"

They climbed into the bathtub, still blushing. For several minutes, they avoided each others' gaze. Finally, Alexis broke the silence.

"Are you better this morning?"

"Yeah. I feel half-normal. Just a little weak, that's all."

"Good. Because I can't have you incapacitated. I'll fix you something to eat after we get out."

"We can just go to breakfast."

She sent him the Look. "You're not going anywhere. Not after the condition you were in. You need at least a day to recover. What, are you worried my cooking will kill you?"

"Maybe." He teased.

She gently splashed him. "Idiot."

He splashed her back. "The Chazz is not--"

She rolled her eyes. "Please, spare me."

He suddenly fell silent. She wondered why, until she saw the smirk on his face. Figuring he was up to no good, she sent him a playful glare. For a moment, he did nothing. Relaxing her guard, she turned her back on him. Suddenly, he threw his arms around her waist, pulling her up against him. She gave a tiny shriek of surprise, and looked up at him almost fearfully.

"Alexis, don't look at me like that. You know I'd never hurt you." He gave her a tender look and hugged her to him.

She relaxed and leaned against his bare shoulder. She gently rubbed his hands, which were placed sensually on her stomach. Then:

"Chazz, I know I don't particularly have to tell you, but I feel like you deserve to know."

"What?"

She snuggled deeper in his arms, feeling almost like she belonged there. Then, she replied, "You remember how Jaden thought I was his girlfriend?"

"Yeah?" Chazz sounded wary.

"And you know how I was coming on to him?"

"Yeah?" Chazz sounded more suspicious than ever. He tightened his grip around her waist.

"Well, I kind of went to the hot springs with him for three days in a row." She told him.

"And?"

"Well," she swallowed hard and laughed nervously, "we kind of kissed. He tried to French me, but I wouldn't let him."

"Does Jaden even know how?" Chazz scoffed.

"Apparently so. And, in a way, he was trying to pressure me to be his girlfriend. I mean, yeah, I was kind of snuggling with him, um, with nothing but a towel on…."

"Jaden can be sexual?" Chazz said scornfully, "Spare me the details, Alexis. Do you want me to kill him now or later?"

"No! Don't beat him up."

Chazz relented, knowing he could never actually hurt Jaden as badly as he implied. "Ok, Ok. You're telling me this why?"

"Because I felt like I had to." She told him.

He rested his chin on her shoulder and touched his lips to her jaw line. "It's cool. I mean, you're kind of free to do what you want. You never agreed to be my girlfriend."

"Yeah, but I feel like you should have some exclusive right over me." She argued. She had to admit, it felt weird arguing with him…for him. Especially when he was arguing her side…when he wanted her to be his and exclusively his.

"I do." He admitted, "I'm the only one you're having sex with, right?"

She blushed and couldn't speak. He was making her nervous.

"Right?"

Weakly, she nodded. Her mouth had gone dry. She began to shiver in his arms.

"What's the matter?"

"You're scaring me." She whispered, though she leaned her head towards him.

"I don't think you're exactly scared. You're denying that you like this."

She looked up at him. No, she wasn't scared of him. That wasn't the right word. She simply didn't want to admit her true feelings to him.

"Come on, admit it. You like this. You want more."

"Chazz, stop!" she squeezed her eyes shut, "I can't have sex with you! Not today!"

"I didn't say--"

"You're implying. No, I don't want to! Ok?!"

"Ok, Ok. But I wasn't trying anything. You know what your problem is? You're too cynical. You need to learn to trust me. If you can't trust me by now…"

"I can't trust you!" she told him, looking up into his eyes, "I know, you promised me a lot, but can I really believe you'll keep those promises? No, you won't. After all, do guys ever keep their promises?"

She fought back tears, thinking about Zane and how he'd said he'd always be there for her. That had been so long ago. Perhaps it had even been a year. But had he kept his promise? No, he'd turned on her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, seeing a change in her eyes.

She gave him a hurt, betrayed look which was not meant for him. Since Zane was not there, though, Chazz had to suffice as the recipient of the look. He began to wonder if he had done something wrong.

"Lex? Did I hurt you somehow?"

In response, she buried her face in his neck and snuggled closer.

"Lex?"

"It's not your fault," she muttered resentfully, "You didn't do anything to me."

Then, a surge of anger and bitterness flooded her.

"It's that damn Zane Truesdale!" she vented with such heated emotion it scared him. "He's such a jerk! He's such a bastard! I hate him so much sometimes. What have I ever done to him to make him act so cruelly towards me? Why, I think I should beat him up or something for the way he's been treating me! The bitch!"

"Whoa, Lex, calm down," he told her as she breathed hard from her outburst, "What happened? What'd he do to you?"

She bit her lip, knowing she'd told him too much. Then, she began to think. What could Zane do to her if Chazz were around? Could he really hurt Chazz if he wanted to? Sure, he was taller, but Chazz wasn't exactly weak. He might not be overly muscular, but Alexis was sure that if push came to shove, Chazz could kick Zane's ass.

"Besides," she thought, "he asked me not to tell. This will get that bastard back!"

She felt a little guilty for doing this. After all, just because he had betrayed her didn't mean it was all right for her to do the same to him. Two wrongs didn't make a right. But now, it was too late. Chazz was looking down at her expectedly, waiting for her to explain herself.

Sighing, she relented. "Ok, Ok. Zane's been acting really weird. Like he's in a cult or something. He's not even the same person anymore. He's acting like a jerk. The other day, he caught me in the hall and threatened to kill me. And since he doesn't joke around…"

"Are you sure Atticus isn't pulling your leg or something?"

She shuddered. "No, Zane would never go along with that…Besides, Atticus would never do anything like that. Even though I did…never mind."

He looked down at her curiously, waiting for her to explain herself. However, she refused to offer any more information. She was not ready to tell him anything deeper about her and Atticus than he'd already witnessed at school.

Suddenly, she felt cold and vulnerable. She turned and shoved her side against Chazz, placing her head on his shoulder. "Hold me tighter."

He did so. "Well? Care to continue?"

She sighed. "Zane really scared me. I don't want him to be like that. I wasn't supposed to tell, but seriously, what can he do to me? I mean, we live in dorms for Pete's sake. There's so many people around, it's ridiculous. I mean, yeah, he sounded dead serious, but…he can't hurt me. Not with my brother being as protective as he is."

"And I won't let him hurt you either." Chazz pointed out.

She smiled a little and nuzzled his shoulder. "I know you won't."

"Just stick with me, and I promise you, no one will ever lay a finger on you."

"Except you." She teased.

"You know what I mean." He rolled his eyes. "Of course, you can't seem to trust me to keep my promises so--"

She leaned up unexpectedly and brushed her lips to his, cutting him off. He tensed, then relaxed, giving way to her affections. He pulled her to face him completely and held her against him. She allowed him to, making sure, though, that he went no farther.

He buried his mouth in her neck, making her feel hot. One of her hands slipped into his silky hair, the other behind his neck. Heart pounding, she squeezed her eyes shut and let him slip one of his hands on her breast. After a moment, he slipped his other hand between her legs. She could feel his mouth curve into a smirk as he continued to kiss her. Feeling him touching her, she blushed. He ran his fingers over her, making her hotter.

"Chazz…" she gasped softly. But she did nothing to stop him.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. It was a good thing, too, for Chazz was about to pull her onto his lap, and she was not resisting.

They looked up in irritation and tried to ignore whoever was at the door. There was another, more urgent, knock.

"Ok, Ok!" Chazz snapped, grabbing a towel. He left the bathroom and opened the door, holding the towel up around his thin waist. "What do you want?"

"Uh, hi, Chazz." Jaden looked sheepishly up at him.

"What are you doing here, slacker?"

"Have you seen Lex? I was just at her room, and she wasn't there."

"Why are you asking me?"

"Well, Katiann said something about seeing her coming over to your room yesterday."

Chazz could've died. "Uh, well, um…what does that matter to you?!"

"I really, really, really need to see her." Jaden looked pleadingly up at Chazz. "It's really important. It's mega-important, actually. So important that--"

"Ok, slacker, ok, just stop! Um, hold on." He blushed and pushed the door closed.

"Alexis," he hissed, "We have a big problem. Jaden wants to talk to you!"

"Well, then, tell him I'm not here."

"He knows you're here. And he's not going to go away. You know how he never gives up!" Chazz told her in a hushed voice.

"Ok, Ok," she whispered, grabbing a towel, "I'll take care of him."

Chazz looked jealous as she went towards the door.

"It's Ok, Chazz." She assured him, kissing him briefly on the lips.

"Don't launch into that whole 'I was wrong, I'm sorry, I like you' crap." He warned her.

"I won't. You have nothing to worry about, baby."

His left eye twitched as she opened the door. She chose to ignore it.

"Um…Alexis…" Jaden's face turned bright red when he saw Alexis wearing nothing but a towel.

"Well, I'm waiting." Alexis leaned in the doorway, crossing her arms and causing the towel to slip slightly, revealing a bit of cleavage.

Jaden gulped. "Alexis, I came to apologize about yesterday. I was way out of line. I never meant to scare you off or come onto you so strongly."

She sighed. "I forgive you, Jay, but I still am not going to be your girl. I can't…" She looked over at Chazz.

Seeing this, Jaden shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. He still hadn't seemed to notice that both Chazz and Alexis were in towels. If he had, he sure hadn't made the connection.

"Well, um, can we still be friends?"

He looked so pathetic and sad that Alexis had to feel sorry for him. Her expression softened. Forgetting she was practically naked, she hugged him. His face turned even redder, nevertheless, he hugged her back.

"Of course, Jay."

Pulling away, Jaden smiled. "Thanks, Lex."

"No prob. Well, I have to go." She said, looking over at Chazz's envious expression.

She shut the door, then turned and glared at Chazz. "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?"

He muttered something under his breath.

"Look, Chazz, I don't like this. Don't get so jealous. You're not going to start tracking my every move, are you?"

"No!" he looked taken aback by this comment.

"Well, you certainly don't seem to trust me."

"Neither can you of me." He retorted, leaving her speechless. "Yeah, you know it's true. Besides, I expect you to go running off with some other guy. Just please…don't have sex with anyone else. I'll leave you alone about it. You can talk to other guys. You can even date other guys. Just not…Jaden."

"You really hate him, don't you?"

"I don't hate him. I just don't like him very much." Chazz turned his nose up in the air.

"Yet somehow, you two have a twisted sort of friendship."

"What makes you think that?"

"You would've beaten him up by now if he wasn't you friend, regardless of my wishes." She pointed out.

He said nothing, for it was true.

"Come here, Chazz," she laughed, "I know you wouldn't stalk me or anything. You're a sweetheart deep inside."

He blushed, but allowed her to embrace him.

Feeling increasingly naughty, and aroused, she took his hands and stepped backwards towards the bed. She looked him right in the eyes as she reclined onto the bed, pulling him with her. He lay on top of her, separated only by their towels.

She put her hand on the back of his head, pulling his face down to kiss him. He closed his eyes as their lips met. Shyly, she licked his lips. He gladly obliged. She slipped her tongue in his mouth slowly. After a moment, he slid his tongue over hers, into her mouth. She lay trapped beneath his body, captured in his kiss, his gaze, and his embrace. He sucked on her tongue ever so slightly. Shivering, she pressed her mouth closer into his. She wanted desperately to do more.

She gently bit his tongue, deciding to play dirty. He ran his fingers through her hair, then moved his hand down her side to her hip. She traced her fingers against his chest, feeling his heart beating harder and knowing what he wanted to do.

Much to her delight, he placed his hand on the insides of her legs, rubbing her thighs. At this point, she was sure she was going to let him, despite what she'd previously told him. Slowly, she began to pull her towel open.

"Oh, baby," he muttered against her tongue, "I love you."

"I--" she began.

Before anything else could occur, there was a sharp knock on the door.

"Chazz?" Came the familiar English accent of the Ra student, "Are you in there? I haven't seen you in days and I was wondering if you were all right. Are you sulking again?"

Chazz scowled. "NOW you come!" he snapped, "Bastion, what's it to you if I'm sulking or not? Don't you have better things to do, like write an equation, or something?"

"There's no need to be so rude." Bastion told him, sounding slightly ticked. "Now, are you going to come out or not? First period is over and second has just begun. The teacher asked me personally to come check on you."

"Just leave me alone!"

"I can't do that," Bastion said, rattling the doorknob, "Now, open this door!"

Before they had time to react, the door flew open. Chazz and Alexis stared up at Bastion in absolute horror. Bastion stared back, just as mortified.

The scene was not exactly pretty. Bastion gawked at Chazz lying on top of Alexis, his hands on the insides of her legs. He then gawked at Alexis, who had her towel open and her hands in Chazz's hair.

"GREAT SCOTT!!!!" Bastion remarked, horrified, "What are you two doing? Is that what you've been doing instead of coming to class? Why, Chazz, I'm ashamed of you!"

"Oh, shit." Chazz muttered.

Alexis was petrified. She could only shiver under Chazz's body. He eventually pulled her towel back over her, covering her up.

"You two are in so much trouble," Bastion began.

"No, please don't tell!" Chazz begged, "We'll get expelled."

"As you deserve to be!"

"Please, find some compassion in your heart! Come on, we're your friends, right?"

"Still, Chazz, you must learn not to behave in such an obscene manner. It's my duty to report this incident."

"Please, no!" Alexis begged, panicking, "Bastion, we can't let anyone know!"

"I'm afraid I will have to tell on you." Bastion said, shaking his head. He walked away.

Chazz and Alexis exchanged a glance. There was no way they could let this go. It seemed as though it was too late, though.

Chazz wrapped his arms around Alexis as she shivered and began to fall to pieces.

"My reputation," she gasped, "What will my friends think? What will my teachers think? What will my parents think? Oh, no."

"I thought you said it didn't matter anymore when we started this." Chazz pointed out.

"Chazz!" she scolded, "That was before everything was Ok again. Now, everyone's going to think I'm a slut because I'm using you!"

"WHAT?! So, you tell me not to abandon or hurt you, but it's Ok for you to do that? Talk about double standards!"

"No, no! That's not what I meant! I mean, I mean...Oh, crap. What I meant was, um…um…" Her brain blanked out, failing to help her. "I, um, er, I-I…"

"Alexis!"

"I-I'm sorry! I'm not using you! I meant that people would think that I was using you and would think I was a slut and I'm not really and--" She had resorted to babbling.

He stared at her. "I don't know."

"I'm not! I swear I'm not! I have feelings for you!" She looked at him desperately, "Please forgive me. Please believe me."

He shook his head. "Ok, Ok. I understand."

He stood up and motioned for her to follow. "We'd better get dressed. Otherwise, we won't be presentable when we have to meet our punishment."

She bit her lip and nodded. She was worried, though, that he didn't believe her. For now, though, she had bigger things to worry about. Now that their affair wasn't a secret anymore, their reputations were at stake, not to mention their careers. It was certainly not going to be easy from there on out.

* * *

**A/N: Well, looking back over that, it was crap, but I have no way of fixing it. Sorry it's so much dialogue. T-T**

**Next time: Did Bastion really tell on them? Syrus is found, and Zane has an unpleasant talk with Alexis. And does Chazz really trust her?**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Here we are at chapter 7. I hope I don't make it stupid. XP I've written a lot today, but since I put Chazz through yaoi hell, I decided to give him a break and let him enjoy Alexis. (I like Valentineshipping best anyway) Besides, I needed to update. So, here we are. Again. Please enjoy responsibly.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own GX.**

* * *

Chapter 7

Chazz could only watch helplessly on as Alexis continued to freak out. At this point, she was saying something about running away. Since she was hyperventilating from a panic attack, though, she wasn't making much sense.

"Alexis, calm down."

"What will they think? What will everyone think? Stupid Bastion. He's such a pain…Oh, God, why? Why are You doing this to me? I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"

Chazz scowled. "That's it. I'm not going to stand for this. So what? Bastion's only been gone for a few minutes. We can still catch him if we run."

"But--" Alexis began.

"You do what you want," Chazz told her, looking over his shoulder, "But I'm going after him. We can't just sit here and do nothing like wimps."

Seeing that he was angry over this and was going to actually try to stop Bastion, Alexis calmed down. She began to think about it, and decided she would go with him.

"Ok, let's go."

They ran as fast as they could down the hall. Thankfully, Bastion had decided to take it to Chancellor Shepherd himself; therefore, they had more time to catch up to him.

"At least he walked," Chazz told Alexis as they ran down the path, "We're running."

"I…can't…keep…up…." Alexis gasped, falling behind.

"Sorry, Lex," he muttered as he left her behind.

He ran faster, pushing himself like he'd never before. Alexis glared at him, wondering how he'd gotten to be so fast. There was no way she could catch up to him now. She kept running despite the fact that her chest was beginning to hurt.

Chazz raced up towards the school in time to see Bastion entering the door. Alexis watched as Chazz lunged and tackled Bastion, shoving him to the ground.

"Chazz, what are you--"

"Don't you dare tell!"

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't."

"I…I'll…um…on threat of death!"

"Chazz! I'm surprised at you."

Alexis staggered up, panting. "Don't…do…it…Bastion."

"Alexis, I used to think you were a lady. And after that display, of course your parents should know."

"It's none of their damn business. And it's none of your damn business either! So leave us alone, will ya!" Chazz snapped, shoving Bastion harder against the concrete.  
"Will you cut it out?" Bastion easily shoved the youngest Princeton off.

Seeing that the tables were turned and Bastion now had Chazz pinned, Alexis jumped on Bastion's back to aid her lover.

"Get…off…of…him." She seethed.

"What can you do, Alexis? I'm only doing this for your own good."

"You're a tattle tell!" Chazz whined pathetically, then, regaining his masculinity, "Get off of me!"

Chazz struggled to get out of Bastion's grip; however, Bastion was far stronger than him.

"Now, hold still, Chazz. If you would just cooperate…"

"If YOU would just cooperate, dammit! What have we ever done to you?"  
"Get off of my Chazzy!" Alexis screamed, almost ready to punch Bastion.

"Now, now, Alexis, I don't think that's necessary--"

"Well, this is!" Using her violent nature, she gave him a good punch in the face, rendering the shocked Bastion helpless.

Chazz wrested free and used Bastion's stunned state to his advantage. Both he and Alexis sat on Bastion, holding him down. Then, giving him pitiful looks:

"Please don't tell." Alexis begged.

"Yeah, that'd ruin us."

"Just think," Alexis said, "what if you find a girl you really, really love, and someone walked in on you? Wouldn't you be embarrassed? Wouldn't you feel hurt and betrayed? So, do us all a favor and let us go."

Bastion blinked up at them, in a daze.

"We're not bad people because of that one little scene." Chazz told him.

"Well, all right, all right. I was wrong. I'm sorry."

Chazz and Alexis breathed a sigh of relief and got off of Bastion. They helped him up.

"We're sorry, too." Alexis apologized, blushing, "We just panicked; that's all. Please forgive us."

"Oh, that's quite all right. I'm sorry for saying that you weren't a lady."

Everyone stood in uncomfortable, embarrassed silence. Finally, they just muttered their goodbyes and parted ways.

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Later that afternoon, Chazz was walking through the forest, looking for his cards. Atticus had hidden them from him in an attempted magic trick. Then, being the jokester he was, he'd taken off, leaving Chazz with no cards and no way of knowing where they were.

"Stupid, no-good, Atticus," he muttered, "always making a fool of me!"

Before he went any farther, he heard a muffled cry from inside a nearby cave. He froze.

"I really, really hope that was just my imagination." Feeling uneasy, he tried to walk away.

"Mmmmm!"

"Ok, that was so not my imagination."

"MMMMMMM!!!!!"

"Ok, Ok, yeesh, I'm coming!"

Chazz stepped boldly into the cave and waited for his eyes to adjust. When they did, he gasped at what he saw.

"Syrus?!"

The little bluenette gazed up at Chazz with stormy gray eyes. Chazz knelt by him and untied the ropes that bound his wrists and ankles and pulled the duct tape off his mouth.

"Ouch!"

"What happened?"

"No talking, just run!"

"Why?"

"Just get me out of here!"

"Ok, Ok, yeesh, don't have a cow."

Chazz picked Syrus up and ran, though he wasn't sure why he was listening to him. Perhaps it was because he felt as though they were in danger. He most certainly didn't want to admit it, though.

He took Syrus to the Obelisk dorm, so he could clean up his cuts and find out what had happened. He didn't stop running and he didn't turn back around. Truthfully, he was too afraid of what he might see. It seemed to take forever before they finally arrived.

Once Chazz had opened his door, he set Syrus on his bed and pulled out the first aid kit. Immediately, he began to clean the bluenette's cuts, silently cursing as he did so. Whoever had caused the marks had taken care to make them deep, but not life threatening. However, Chazz had to make sure he cleaned them most carefully; otherwise, the boy could develop an infection or maybe even tetanus.

"You're going to have to keep these clean," Chazz growled, adjusting the bandages. "Now, tell me what happened."

"I don't know." Syrus whispered, looking down.

"Are you just saying that? Or do you really know something that you just don't want to tell me?" Chazz frowned harshly.

Syrus bit his lip as tears dribbled down his cheeks.

"Syrus? What happened?"

"I told you, I don't know!" Syrus insisted, "All I remember is that I was looking over my deck, and I noticed that my Power Bond was missing. So, I pulled out my cell phone to call Jay because he likes to borrow my cards sometimes, and then everything went black. I think something hit me on the head…"

Chazz set his mouth in a tight, angry line. Syrus shrank back.

"Are you mad at me?"

"No."

"Then why…"

"Syrus…" Chazz massaged his temples in frustration. "Never mind. I'm just going to take you back to the Slifer dorm now."

"Ok."

Grumbling, Chazz picked the other boy up and carried him on his back to the Slifer dorm. Syrus seemed pleased to be getting a ride out of this, especially from Chazz. He stuck out his tongue at a few boys who'd previously bullied him. Although they glared with all their might, they didn't dare touch him. Chazz would have killed them if they had.

Chazz invited himself into Jaden's room. At first, Jaden didn't notice. He was hunched in a corner, writing in his journal and looking completely enthralled. Finally, Chazz cleared his throat. Jaden looked up and stared at the raven haired boy for a moment. It took a minute, but it eventually registered that Syrus was back.

"Jaden!" Syrus cried, his face breaking out into a wide smile. He squeezed him in a tight hug, crying.

"Oh, Sy! You scared me to death!" Jaden exclaimed, hugging his friend back. "Don't you ever disappear like that again! I mean, if you can help it."

Chazz bit his lip, shifting his weight. The scene before him made him feel far too uncomfortable. Awkwardly, he headed for the door. He stopped just as he turned the knob, muttered a goodbye, then left.

On his way back to the boys' dorm, he decided that he should tell Alexis about finding Syrus. After all, she was worried about him as much as anyone. He might as well calm her fears, as well as sneak a little visit in. He blushed thinking about her.

Seeing that no one was in the main room, he snuck inside the dorm and hurried up the stairs. It didn't take long for him to find Alexis' room. He tapped lightly on the door. There was no response. Frowning, he scribbled a brief note telling her Syrus was all right, slipped it under her door, then reluctantly left.

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Alexis stood at the end of the dock, waiting for Zane. She shifted and sighed heavily. They met here almost every night at the same time, so where was he? Despite his cold words to her and her bitter resentment towards him, they'd still continued to meet, though nothing had been said.

Really, she could not understand what had driven Zane to become so terribly violent. It seemed like only yesterday he'd been like a big brother to her. She, Atticus, and Zane had always played together when they were younger. Where had she gone wrong?

Her amber eyes softened, filling with tears at the thought of losing him to some darkness that she did not know. He was not the same person anymore. How she wished she could just bring him back. If only she could turn back time. If only they could all be normal and happy again, her and Zane and Atticus.

Atticus. The name tore through her heart as she thought back to when he'd become so sick. It had been just a few years before. How had it even happened? She had no clue. Nothing could've prepared her for the hurt that had overtaken her when she found out he had a fatal heart condition. And to think, the doctor had said he wouldn't live but three more months! Yet, here he was, about a year later. He could die at any minute. He seemed so healthy yet…so fragile. And that didn't change all the times that she'd been so mean to him.

Frivolous? Yes, it had been. However, circumstances being how they were, she felt horrible for all the things she'd said to him. How she'd told him he was a horrible brother. How she'd yelled at him that she didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore because he'd left Duel Academy on purpose. They'd gotten into a most heated fight, and that had been when he'd collapsed. That was how they'd learned about the condition. It was hereditary, the doctor had said. Yet she wasn't so sure. She still feared that it had been her fault somehow. She'd apologized; he'd long forgotten. Still, she couldn't be sure if he was just saying those things to comfort her.

When he'd disappeared, it had most certainly upset her. She'd cried so hard, believing that it was her fault and he'd run away. She'd thought he was dead. However, he had come back. And he'd been as healthy as he could be…or so they'd thought. He'd developed heart problems almost overnight, it seemed. What he'd done while away had certainly had an effect on his physical health. For some reason, though, his personality seemed to have changed a bit as well. Yes, he was still Atticus, but even now, he had some moments where he seemed…different. It was in these moments that he was a complete stranger to her--he seemed serious and perhaps even a bit malicious. She had yet to know why though.

The sound of a twig snapping under someone's weight pulled her from her thoughts. Looking up, she saw a tall figure approaching through the dark fog of night. She shivered and hugged herself for warmth.

"I see you made it." He muttered, taking his place beside her, "And I'm glad. I have to talk to you."

"It's about time."

"Don't get too cocky."

She backed down, feeling frightened. "Zane, the way you've been acting lately--you're scaring me. What's wrong? You can tell me."

He ignored the concern in her amber eyes. "Nothing is wrong. Alexis, I'm not here to discuss such things. I need to talk to you about where we stand."

"So, you're not even going to apologize?"

"I have no need to."

He reached out towards her, causing her to recoil in fear. Much to her surprise, he only cupped her face in his hands and rubbed his thumbs over her cheeks. For a moment, he looked almost tender.

"Alexis, what do you feel regarding me?"

She was stunned by his question. "Zane, I-I'm not sure what you mean."

"How do you view me? Am I a friend? Am I more to you?"

She swallowed hard, still distrustful. "Well, I suppose that you're my friend. But, I'm confused. You were so cruel to me. You told me to back off. How can you tell me one thing, then turn around 180 degrees and ask if we're friends?"

"I was wrong." He said simply, though he inwardly scoffed at the dishonesty of his own statement. "I wasn't in my right mind. Do you forgive me?"

She nodded, staring up into his blue-green eyes. "Of course, Zane."

"There is something else, Alexis."

"What's that?"

"I want you to be my girlfriend."

"B-but," she sputtered, shocked. "I can't…"

"Alexis, I insist."

She tore away from him. "I can't."

"Alexis, I'm not asking you." He gripped her wrist tightly, his gentle nature giving way to a colder one. His teal eyes shot daggers through her, scaring her greatly. "I'm telling you."

"Wh-what do you mean? Hey, stop that! I thought you said you were wrong!"

"I said I was wrong about how I viewed you. I never said I was wrong about anything else. I was only wrong to say that you should back away. On the contrary, you should be my girlfriend. You will be my girlfriend."

He looked coldly down at her, frightening her all the more.

"Zane, let go. I'm not kidding you."

He leaned closer and muttered in her ear as he twisted her arm painfully, "I know you told Chazz."

She froze and looked up at him with helpless eyes.

"If you don't abide by my wishes," he whispered, twisting her arm farther, "I won't hesitate to kill him. Do you understand?"

She nodded, biting her lip. "I'll do whatever you want. Just please, don't kill him."

"Very well." He smirked, and pulled her up against him. "Now, we'll try this again. I want you to be my girlfriend."

She grimaced and gave Chazz a silent apology. "Ok, Zane, Ok. I'm yours. Now will you let me go?"

"Not on your life."

He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, wrapping his arms snugly around her waist. She froze, stiffening in his arms, feeling trapped. What should have been a warm, loving gesture was instead filled with cold and hatred. She shivered as he pushed his mouth harder to hers.

"Somebody, anybody, help me!" she thought, feeling helpless. "Chazz, if you can somehow hear me, please help me!"

Zane forced his tongue past her reluctant lips. She wouldn't have returned the kiss had he not been looking at her so murderously. She was so frightened for Chazz's life, as well as her own, that she obliged to his wishes. More than anything, she hoped that she would wake up from this nightmare. Zane, her best and most trusted friend, had turned on her. He was not the Zane she knew and loved.

Finally, Zane pulled his mouth away from hers to look at her. Angry tears were staining her pretty cheeks as she refused to meet his gaze.

"Come, come, now, Alexis, don't be so gloomy." He told her, pushing her chin up and forcing her to look at him.

"You can control my actions," she said, chest heaving from anger, "but you cannot control my emotions!"

He smirked. "We shall see about that. Don't be so stubborn; it could get you in a lot of trouble."

He roughly thrust her from him so that she fell to the edge of the dock. Regarding her with icy eyes void of any care, he turned his back on her and wordlessly disappeared into the night. Anger filled her to the point that she wanted to scream. She watched as he walked away, feeling angry, betrayed, and resentful.

Pulling herself to her feet, she stormed off to the girls' dorm, plotting revenge against Zane, even if it cost her her very life. As long as she prevented him from hurting Chazz, that was all that mattered. She knew that he would try to kill Chazz anyway. He had said that he would if she told, after all. And she knew for a fact Hell Kaiser never gave empty threats. From that point on, she knew she'd have to make Zane's life a living hell. It was the only way to free herself from his iron grip.

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**A/N: Ok, that was a kinda crappy chapter. I will try to write chapter 8 tomorrow, and that one will be better. : )**

**Next time: Alexis tries to keep her relationship w/ Zane a secret from Chazz. At the same time, she plots on a way to escape him, as he grows increasingly oppressive. Jaden confronts her about some strange marks on her face. What will happen when Zane decides that Alexis is getting too bold?**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I know the last chapter sucked. I hope this one is better. It's probably not, though. Sorry. : )**

**Disclaimer: I do not own GX. I wish I did, though.**

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Chapter 8

Alexis fumed all the way back to the dorms. She was halfway to the girls' dorm when she swerved sharply on her heel and headed for the boys' dorm. At this point, she was so angry; she didn't care if Zane was there or not. She just wanted to go see Chazz and eat up his gentle affections, which were quite the opposite of Zane's.

The more she thought about Zane, the angrier she became. How dare he treat her as though she were property! She was by no means his! She belonged to Chazz…if she had to be thought of in terms of property anyway. Her cheeks flushed pink as she thought about being Chazz's. Somehow, the thought really appealed to her. Quickly, she shook it from her mind.

She stormed up the stairs and knocked on Chazz's door. There was a protest from inside. She knocked again. Finally, the door flew open.

"What?! Oh, hi, Alexis." He looked sheepish.

"Can I come in?"

He blushed. "Sure."  
She stepped inside and flopped on the couch, arms crossed over her chest. Seeing she was in a foul mood, Chazz shut the door and carefully sat beside her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She seethed, "Nothing at all."

"Um…."

She felt that conversation was pointless. Since she wasn't going to tell him or be cheered up, she might as well just get what she'd come for. They weren't going to talk, anyway. And this would sure show Zane that he couldn't control her. She would surely get him back.

"Chazz?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's have sex."

"Wh-what?"

"Please?" she looked up at him with imploring eyes, beginning to feel more depressed than angry, "I had a really bad day. I need you to comfort me."

"Ok, ok." He relented.

She grabbed his hand and led him to the bed. His hands searched her body before her began to undress her. She only rested her chin on his shoulder and let him run his hands over her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." She almost snapped.

"Ok, ok…What's your problem?"

"I told you, my day sucked."

She silenced herself before she could offer any more information. Truth be told, she was very hurt. She could not imagine why Zane would want to do such a thing to her. He was supposed to be her friend. Feeling even worse, she looked up at Chazz.

"Can we just get to it?" she asked softly.

He looked surprised. "You usually like me to start out slow like this."

"Not tonight." She muttered, "Tonight, I just want you to go ahead and do it." She did not want him to stall anymore. She needed him more than she ever had.

"Ok, baby."

Chazz smiled tenderly at her and began to undress her. She, as well, undressed him, not really thinking about it. She was not focused at all on what she was doing. All she could think about was how Zane had betrayed her and forced himself on her.

Without hesitation, Chazz laid her back on the bed and eased down on her. Her body jolted slightly as he entered her, then she lay silently, trembling beneath him. After a moment, she slipped her arms around his neck and held him.

His arms tightened around her as he pushed in a little deeper. She gave no indication of whether she liked it or not; she remained silent.

Seeing that she was not willing to start any sort of conversation, he spoke to her.

"Alexis, you're awfully quiet. You're acting…different. What's the matter?"

She looked sullenly up at him, then, her expression softened seeing the truly concerned look in his charcoal eyes. "I don't want to talk about it, Chazz. And not because I don't trust you. I just don't feel like talking tonight."

He seemed a bit taken aback by this. "Well, Ok."

They silently made love for several minutes. She bit her lip, arching her back to let him in deeper, wanting him to heal her as much as his ability would allow. He could not suppress the soft, quiet moan that escaped his mouth. Slowly, almost even numbly, she moved one of her hands up to his head, and began to stroke his hair. Feeling like a zombie, she buried her face in his neck.

She breathed deeply and sighed, feeling his pulse beating rapidly against her mouth. She spread her legs a bit wider, and held his body tighter. This time, it was she that gave a little moan.

He smirked, his lips curving against her temple as he kissed it. "You like that, don't you?"

She blushed. "Be quiet, Chazz."

He laughed softly and drew her closer to his chest, coddling her in his arms. His dark eyes danced with mischief as he leaned down and buried his mouth in her neck, kissing it. Sliding his tongue out, he began to French kiss her neck, causing her heart to skip a beat. She gave a tiny moan again.

He bit her neck gently, then kissed the tip of her ear before biting it as well. She ran a hand up and down his back, enjoying the sensation of his bare skin against her hand. Smirking again, he ran his hand through her hair and down her neck until it rested on her breast. He traced his finger over her nipple before leaning down and biting it.

"Stop biting me."

"Sorry." He blushed and kissed her nipple gently. "I thought you liked it."

"I do…but…not now." She couldn't explain why she took a sudden distaste to it.

He leaned up and tried to kiss her mouth. Turning her head away, she denied him.

Looking confused, he asked, "Do you not want me to kiss you, either?"

She avoided eye contact and refused to answer the question.

He became concerned. "Alexis? What's wrong?"

"Do you have to ask me one hundred times a day? I don't want to tell you!"

She buried her face in his neck so he couldn't see the tears in her eyes. As much as she tried to hold them in, they spilled over anyway. She began to sob quietly.

"Alexis? Hey, are you Ok?" He rubbed her back gently, trying to comfort her.

"No, I'm not Ok." She sniffed, embarrassed.

"Wha--"

"Don't say it, Ok?"

"It's a habit, sorry." He sounded a bit sarcastic, which was not what she needed to deal with at the moment.

"Chazz, could you at least try to be sympathetic?"

"How can I if I don't know what's wrong?"

This silenced her. He did have a point.

She ran her fingers through his silky, raven spikes before speaking again. She tried to think of what to say to him, but she didn't know how to invent an excuse, pretend to be comforted, and release her frustrations all at the same time. Realizing she just couldn't bring herself to lie to him, she gave in.

While she pondered how much she should reveal to him, he ran his hand down her side and discovered the large bruise she'd obtained when Zane had thrown her down.

"What's this?"

She winced when he touched it. "That's….a bruise."

"Yeah, that's obvious. How'd you get it?"

She sighed heavily. "I guess I have no choice. Zane…he…he threw me down."

"What?!"

She leaned very close to him so she could speak softly in his ear. He tilted his head down, realizing that it was something that was not meant for him to know, something that she was supposed to keep secret.

"Zane forced me to be his girlfriend," she whispered in his ear, "I tried to resist him, but he told me if I didn't, then he would kill you. He knows that I told you about him. And when I tried to get away from him, he twisted my arm and forced me to kiss him. I'm afraid he'll make me do more. I don't want to do anything more with him! I'm scared, Chazz. I'm scared he'll kill both of us. And he obviously doesn't think too much of me. I mean, after he kissed me, he threw me down to the dock. What do you call that? I say that's indifference."

Chazz was silent for a moment. Finally, he wrapped his arms tightly around her, holding her body closer to his. She became aware that she was shaking violently.

"Don't worry, Alexis," Chazz whispered so softly it was barely audible, "I won't let him hurt you like that again." He touched his lips to the tip of her ear, causing her heart to thump painfully against her ribs.

"Chazz, no, don't. Don't do anything, please. I'm scared, but, I can take care of myself and I need to work this out on my own. I'll need you as someone to confide in, but I want to solve this on my own. If you get involved, that will make things worse."

"Well, I sort of am involved now," Chazz snorted, "I mean, hello! Do you think Zane's going to be very happy to find out that you've been having sex with me? You're his girlfriend, for Pete's sake. And knowing what you did, you came to me without intending on telling me?"

She blushed. "Chazz, it's not like that, Ok? I just got really upset and lost my head. Zane doesn't have to know about this."

"What if he finds out? What if he rapes you? Then he'll know you aren't a virgin."

She bit her lip, then protested, "I won't let him get alone with me."

"Alexis, you know very well that you couldn't fight him off. He could drag you someplace against your will."

She sighed heavily. "Can we just forget about it for now? I need you to comfort me, not disturb me. That's what I came to you for."

"Ok." He sighed.

They lapsed into a troubled silence again.

Trying to console herself, Alexis pressed harder up against him. Seeing the desperation in her eyes, Chazz did his best to pleasure her so that she might forget her troubles. He leaned down, tilting his head, trying to kiss her again. This time, she allowed him to touch his lips to hers. He kissed her very softly for a moment, then began massaging her lips with his.

She opened her mouth, inviting him to French kiss her. He gladly obliged. She lay still, rubbing her long, smooth leg against his, causing him to shiver. Entangling her fingers deeper in his ebony spikes, she pulled him closer.

To her surprise, he slowly rolled over on his back, allowing her on top. Blushing, she pressed down on him, then let up quickly, then eased down once more. She continued in this manner, finding it to be most pleasurable. He moaned very quietly against her tongue, almost even like a purr. She smiled at this, thinking it to be the strangest noise he'd yet to make. Running her fingers through his hair, she thought about how she'd like to make love to him forever.

He ran his hand down her neck again, then cupped her breasts in his hands. She allowed him to massage her breasts, then move his mouth from hers to her stomach. He kissed her navel then kissed her all the way back up to her mouth. Giving a tiny moan, she pulled her mouth from his and kissed him on the cheek.

He propped himself up a bit so he could look her in her eyes. A small smirk came to his mouth as he looked at her. Shivers crept up and down her spine.

"Chazz," she panted, "can't you ever get enough of me?"

"Nope," he told her, kissing her lips briefly, "Besides, who came to who for sex?"

Blushing, she snuggled against his chest, shoving her hips closer. "Me."

Satisfied, he reclined back down. She rested against his chest, her cheek pressed to his rapidly beating heart, her hair spilling over his arm.

"I love you."

She jumped a little, surprised by his sudden boldness. "I-I-"

"You don't have to say anything." He told her, his hand sliding down to her bottom. He pressed her closer to him.

"But, I feel like I have to."

"Don't say it if you don't mean it."  
"But…I don't know anymore." She said this softly, hoping he wouldn't hear her.

He only kissed her on the cheek. "When the time is right, Lex, you'll know."

She blushed and pulled his head down for another kiss, pondering his words and wondering if she really did love him deep inside. She fell silent and only lay in ecstasy with him, making love to him off and on for the next several hours.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Early in the morning, she crept back into the girls' dorm, holding her boots. She really hoped no one caught her coming back. As much as she'd have liked to have stayed with Chazz, she knew she couldn't. She was at too much risk of being caught. She would've been better off staying; however, for a tall figure lurked in the darkness, waiting for her.

"Alexis."  
She jumped a mile.

Zane stepped out of the shadows, scowling. Seeing the cold expression and the indifferent, wicked gleam in his teal eyes, she reminded herself that this was not Zane.

"Hi, Zane." She said awkwardly, playing dumb, "What are you doing here?"

"I think the question is, what are you doing here so late? Or rather, so early? It's two-thirty in the morning."

Before she had time to respond, he seized her around the throat. "What were you thinking? Didn't you know that I already knew about you and Chazz?"

She gasped for breath as he tightened his grip around her neck. "Zane, I--you're hurting me…"

"Shut up."

"Wh-what?"

"I said, shut up!" He flung her to the floor, bringing a sharp blow across her face.

"Ow! Zane, please, let me--"

"I don't want to hear another word from you!"

He hit her again and again until she began to feel dizzy. A salty taste entered her mouth as a warm liquid trickled down her cheek.

"Zane, please!" she begged.

"Be quiet!" he hissed, jerking her up and slamming her to the wall. "Do you understand that you're not to tell anyone about this?"

She nodded weakly as he smacked her again.

"Do you understand?" he asked again, bringing his fist down on her once more.

Tears blurred her vision as she nodded again.

Hearing that the commotion had caused a disturbance upstairs, Zane released her.

As he disappeared into the night, he hissed, "Remember, not a word to anyone. And Syrus was only a warning."

Alexis staggered upstairs to her room before crumpling and giving way to her tears again. There was no east way out of this mess. No matter what, Zane was going to hurt her. No matter what, Zane would get his way.

* * *

**A/N: Ok, so that didn't quite go as planned. Nevertheless, it did make things interesting.**

**Next time: Ok, this time Jaden will ask about the marks on her face. And she becomes more desperate for escape. What will happen when Zane becomes more abusive and Jaden starts to think that Chazz is behind the abuse? **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Poor Alexis. sigh Her life sucks right about now. That's all I have to say about this chap.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own GX.**

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Chapter 9:

Alexis stumbled through the hall, exhausted. For the past three days, she had not slept at all. All she could think about was how miserable she was and how badly Zane was treating her. She lived her life in constant fear of him now. And he hadn't made things any better. Her fear of him increased along with the daily beatings she received.

For the past few days, she had been able to cover up the bruises and cuts. But not anymore. He'd beaten her too severely for any amount of make-up to do justice. She flashed back to the previous night.

_"Alexis, won't you say you love me?" Zane asked, almost seeming like himself again._

_"I can't." _

_"Why not? I love you…"_

_"No, you don't. You haven't shown it in any way."_

_"Alexis," here he leaned forward, "I love you very much. Why can't you see that? How can I prove it to you?"_

_"By letting me go."_

_"I can't do that."_

_"Why not?"_

_"Because I love you."_

_"Ok, that's it. We're just going in circles. I'm out of here."_

_"Alexis, I'm afraid I can't let you do that." He seized her arms, wrenching her painfully close to him. "You can't leave me. I love you."_

_"Zane…please…"_

_His eyes almost glowed in the moonlight, as though a demonic aura surrounded him. "I won't release you until you love me too."_

_"Zane, I…"_

_"Alexis, why can't you love me?!"_

_"I-I-I…"_

_"WHY?!!!!"_

_He slammed her down to the dock, and began to rain blows on her. She tried to scream for help, but he silenced her by cutting off her airway._

_"No one will ever hear you speak again unless you admit it," Zane seethed through his teeth, then roared, "Tell me you love me!"_

_Alexis opened her mouth, trying to speak, but no sound came out. She looked desperately up at Zane as he squeezed harder, cutting off her breathing completely. She feared he'd break her neck._

_"What's wrong with you?! What?!!!"_

_He slammed her down again and again, continuing to beat her mercilessly until the warm blood escaped her body, staining the concrete with crimson streaks. Soon, he'd bruised her face badly, as well as her body. His fingers dug into her skin, leaving deep, red marks. She tried to gasp in pain, but found she couldn't. _

_Only when her vision started to go black did he let go. He threw her aside like a rag doll for a moment, and watched with satisfied pride as she coughed and sputtered, choking on the blood that had pooled in her mouth. After several minutes, his expression softened, and he seemed more like his normal self._

_"Alexis, I--"_

_Much to her confusion, he cut himself off. His face twisted in a grimace; he gripped his chest in pain. Worried, she staggered to her feet and draped an arm around him as he crumpled to his knees._

_"Zane, are you Ok?"_

_He gasped for a moment, then, glaring, "I'm fine. What's it to you anyway? Can't you see what I just did to you? Why do you not recoil in fear?"_

_Although confused, she answered him. "You may not care for me anymore, but I care for you. And I know this isn't you. I love Zane. Where did he go?"_

Alexis winced and tripped over the threshold of the classroom remembering this latest incident. Before she hit the ground, an arm snaked around her waist, catching her.

"Oh, thanks." She looked up to see who had caught her. She blushed when she saw it was Chazz.

"Careful, there, Lex." He struggled to pull her to her feet while still balancing their books.

"Oh, Chazz, thank you, so much!" She looked up at him with tired eyes.

"Hey, it's no big deal."

She shrugged. To her it was, after the way she'd been treated.

He tried again to pull her to her feet. She found she was too weak to be of any help to him. Seeing that she couldn't stand up, he dropped their books and picked her up.

"Chazz, I'm Ok." She lied, "You can put me down now."

"I don't think you are."

He set her on a desk. Catching sight of her bruised face, he took it gently in his hands and examined it. She avoided his gaze, hoping with all her heart he would not say anything.

"Alexis…" he looked stunned as he touched her cheek gently, "What happened to you?"

Recoiling from his touch, she shook her head. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she continued to avoid his gaze. "It's nothing."

Chazz took her in his arms and held her. After a moment, she threw her own arms tightly around his waist and buried her face in the front of his obelisk blue jacket.

"Chazz…I can't…"

"Can't what?" He asked as he stroked her hair.

"I can't say…I can't think…I can't breathe….I can't live like this! Oh, Chazz, I _can't_."

Seeing that she was breaking down, he pulled her into his lap and held her tightly. He tucked her head under his chin and rocked her as she began to cry again. Soon, she was sobbing, still clinging to him; however, she still refused to tell him anything.

"There, there, Lex. Just tell me what's wrong. I can fix it; I promise."

She looked up at him with red, teary eyes. "You can't fix this."

"You don't know that. Just give me a chance--"

"You can't fix it!" she snapped, "Nobody can!"

"Now, I'm sure that's--"

"Don't bother to try to comfort me. It won't work." Nevertheless, she buried her face in his collarbone.

He said nothing, only patted her on the back. Finally, she wriggled free of his grip and managed to get to her feet. Taking a deep, shaky breath, she composed herself.

"What has this world come to, Chazz?"

He shrugged and tried to follow her as she went out the door. Turning around, she placed a finger to his lips.

"No. Just…let me go. I'll be fine now. Leave me alone."

He only nodded.

"It's nothing against you," she continued, trembling, "I just need to be by myself for awhile. If I need you, I'll call you."

He nodded again. "You take care, Lex." Looking worried, he wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

She pushed him away. "Please, don't do that. You can't."

He looked at her with sad gray eyes. "But, Lex…"

"I don't care." She turned on her heel and stumbled down the hall.

She went into the girl's bathroom and washed her face. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she thought about how terrible she looked. Her eyes were still red from crying and lack of sleep, not to mention the dark circles under them. Crumpling under the counter, she thought about how she wanted to die. How could she be of any worth to anyone? She was useless.

Jasmine walked in to see Alexis begin to rock back and forth under the counter, whispering to herself.

"Alexis?"

"Leave me alone."

"But…I'm worried about you. You haven't eaten in three days and you look sick…what's wrong?"

"I said, leave me alone."

"Everyone's worried about you. If you don't eat or improve, I'll have to take you to Ms. Fountaine and--"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"

"Alexis…" Jasmine looked hurt.

Alexis sighed. "I'm sorry, Jasmine, I really am, but…I need to be alone."

Jasmine only nodded and hurried out.

Alexis stifled another sob as her friend left. Suddenly, she felt lonely. She felt cold and unloved. Maybe she shouldn't have run Jasmine off like that.

Trembling, she arose to her feet and stepped out. As morbid thoughts flew through her mind as well as memories, her feet carried her outside. Like a zombie, she made her way down the path towards the sea and stopped at the edge of a cliff. She gazed down at the crashing breakers on the jagged rocks beneath, heart pounding. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, and let herself fall.

Before enough time had passed for the tips of her boots to leave the ground, she felt herself being roughly grabbed. Fear overcame her senses as memories of Zane flashed back to her. She began to fight back with all her might, not willing herself to be physically abused.

"Lex, calm down! It's just me!" Chazz's voice told her.

"Again?!" She snapped, "Why can't you just leave me alone? I asked to be alone! Did you follow me?"

"Only when I saw you come out here. I shouldn't have let you leave in the first place, feeling like you did. After that, I felt as though something weren't right, and it looks like my assumption was correct. Why would you want to do this?"

"Do you not understand?" She screamed, kicking. "Of course not! You could _never_ even possibly imagine what it felt like for someone you love to--"

She stopped, seeing his melancholy expression. The kicking ceased, and she remained limp in his arms. Slowly, he set her down, and undid his jacket. She gulped as he undid his shirt too, and let it slide down. Staring at the fresh bruises and scars across his body, she began to understand.

"Chazz…"

"Don't take pity on me." He told her, "I chose to be a loser."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Alexis," his eyes narrowed, bitter hatred and resentment burning in them, causing her to step away, "my brothers have abused me practically from the moment I was born. Maybe not as badly as whoever it is that's doing this to you, but I recognize the signs. Someone's hurting you, and I bet I know who."

She shook her head, her mouth going dry. "Chazz, you couldn't possibly know that for sure--"

He buttoned his shirt and jacket back up and looked her right in the eyes. "I'm not a fool. I wasn't born yesterday; I can see what's going on. You've told me enough thus far. You can't hide it when you've revealed so much. And I want to protect you."

She bit her lip. "No, don't. I'm Ok, I promise."

"No, you're not. Let me take care of you."

"No, I don't want it!" She snapped, "Chazz, get it through your thick head that I don't want your help, neither do I need it. I can suffice on my own, thank you very much. I'm sorry your brothers do that, but I don't need your advice. I can fend for myself."

"If you can then why don't you start acting like it?"

"Chazz, you little--" She stopped and took a deep breath, "Sometimes, I swear, I hate you."

He winced, but pretended like it didn't hurt him. "Alexis, please…"

"NO! I don't want to hear it, Ok? I can take care of myself, I can fend for myself, and I can protect myself. I can do it, Ok? Ok?! I'm independent and I don't need anyone taking care of me, got it? And no, I don't want you to jump to conclusions and go on a wild manhunt. Whatever delusions you have, keep them to yourself, because I want no part of it. So go away!"

"I can't. You almost committed suicide!" He protested.

"So what are you gonna do about it, huh? Call the cops? Call the counselor? Call the Chancellor? Well, I'll tell you something right now, Chazz Princeton, I told you I didn't want you involved and guess what? I still don't want you involved. So take a hike!"

"Alexis, I don't care what you've been through, that's no way to behave at your age. You're frickin' sixteen, for Pete's sake. Act like it! And those words are pretty hurtful. Dammit! I wasn't gonna call the cops on you! But do you think I'd turn my back on you? No! I can't do that for so many reasons--"

She took off running before he could finish his sentence. She hoped that he would be unable to catch her.

"Hey, Alexis, what the--" He chased after her, "Wait, don't do anything stupid!"

"I don't care!" She shouted, tearing wildly down the path.

"Oh, great, she's lost it!" Chazz grumbled.

Whereas before she had struggled to keep up with him, now, with a sudden rush of adrenaline, she was well ahead of him. She had never known she could run so fast.

As they ran by the Slifer dorm, Jaden glanced up and saw them. He gaped as they ran faster. It seemed as though they were in the middle of a fight. And by that point, Chazz was getting fed up.

"ALEXIS RHODES, YOU'D BETTER GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW OR I'LL CALL YOUR MOM!!!!!!!!"

"MAKE ME!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"ALEEEEEEEXIIIIIIIIIIIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

He pushed himself harder, and found he was gaining on her. Seeing this, she shrieked and pushed herself harder, too.

"NOOOOO!!!" She screamed, beginning to sob hysterically, "LEAVE ME ALONE!!! CAN'T YOU SEE I DON'T WANT YOU?!!!!!!"

Jaden leapt to his feet and chased after both of them. "Chazz Princeton, stop it!"

He jumped and tackled Chazz so that both went tumbling to the ground and slammed into a tree.

Alexis' body gave out on her. Her knees buckled, causing her to crumple to the ground, heaving and sobbing fearfully.

Jaden, seeing the shape Alexis was in and believing that Chazz was the cause, could not refrain himself. Scowling, he punched Chazz across the face, giving him a nosebleed.

"Leave her alone!"

"What did I do?" Chazz demanded to know, "Why I outta…!"

Jaden gave him a piercing glare and helped Alexis to her feet. "Come on, Lex, I'll take you back to my room and clean you up."

"What the--?" Chazz began.

"And I'll deal with you later, Chazz." Jaden cast him a glare over his shoulder as he picked Alexis up and carried her off.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Chazz snapped, momentarily paralyzed due to the collision with the tree, "Get back here, slacker!"

Jaden ignored Chazz and took Alexis to his room. She blushed as he set her on his bed and examined her.

"What'd he do to you?"

"He didn't do anything…" she gasped, "except chase me."

"Lex, you can tell me the whole story. I won't let him hurt you."

She groaned inwardly. This sounded exactly like what Chazz had said. Feeling too drained to argue, she lay still and looked up at him pitifully.

"Oh." Jaden picked her up and carried her into the bathroom.

Running so fast and then falling down so hard had opened up some of her wounds again. Then there were a few fresh cuts from the gravel she'd fallen on. Jaden cringed, looking at her blood-stained jacket.

"This looks pretty bad." He murmured, reaching up and undoing her jacket.

She blushed but was too tired to object.

"Er…do you mind?" he asked, blushing redder.

She shook her head lethargically.

He dropped her jacket to the floor. Seeing how her shirt was bloody as well, he peeled it off too. She blushed even more as she stood in front of Jaden in her bra.

Jaden gasped a bit, seeing the many bruises and cuts over her body. He especially stared at the deep red marks on her neck and over her breasts, some of which had punctured the skin. He tentatively took hold of her bra.

"I'm sorry, Lex. May I?"

She nodded weakly. The marks were beginning to throb painfully again, anyway.

Jaden scratched his head as he tried to figure out how to take her bra off. She looked tiredly at him.

"Jaden…"

"I'm sorry…"

Finally, he found the clasp and undid it. He adverted his eyes as it fell to the floor.

Alexis stood trembling in front of him, her arms crossed over her bare breasts. She blushed and began to feel bad for how she had treated Chazz. After all, he'd only been trying to help. Hell, he'd saved her life! She began to cry softly again.

Jaden automatically put his arms around her. "Oh, Lex, don't cry. It's Ok. I've got you."

"Jay, I've been so mean. I'm such a terrible person. Chazz was only trying to help. He didn't do this to me. And I treated him so badly! I yelled at him and kicked him…and now what if he hates me? I said I sometimes hated him! I acted like such a baby…"

"It's Ok, Lex, it happens." He stoked her golden hair, trying to soothe her, "He'll forgive you. Now, let me clean you up."

She pulled away from him and let him treat her wounds. She winced every time he hit a particularly sore spot, but remained silent. Finally, he spoke once more.

"If Chazz didn't hurt you, then who did?" He looked her right in the eyes and touched her cheek gently.

Blushing, she replied, "Nobody did."

Jaden looked at her sympathetically and backed down.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Alexis bristled as Jaden went to answer it.

"Can I come in, slacker, or are you still skeptical of me?"

Jaden blinked. "What's 'skeptical' mean?"

"Never mind. Can I just come in?"

"Ok." Jaden held the door open, looking sheepish, "I'm sorry, bro, I thought you were hurting her."

"Yeah, yeah, of course you'd think that." Chazz scowled. "Is Lex here?"

"Yeah, she's in the bathroom."

Chazz headed towards the door.

"But I wouldn't go in there because…" his face turn fiery red.

"Because what?"

"She not, well…"

"What?!" Chazz looked annoyed.

"She's not wearing a--hey, wait!"

Chazz ignored Jaden and walked in. Alexis blushed, hearing him enter, and refused to look up at him.

"Lex?"

Shyly, she lifted her eyes. "I'm sorry. I acted like an idiot. I never meant anything I said. Please forgive me…"

"Aww, Lexi, I forgive you." He hugged her tightly, "I understand, Ok? Sometimes you just gotta snap."

"Aww, Chazz, thank you!" Feeling like a fool, she burst into tears for the fifteenth time that day.

"It's Ok, baby, it's Ok." He stroked her hair as she cried into his shoulder.

She pulled away to look up at his face. "Chazz?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for saving me. I made a mistake…"

"I understand."

"Oh, and you won't tell, will you?"

He hesitated, then shook his head. "No, your secret's safe with me. So long as you don't do it again."

She nodded. "I won't…Chazz, will you honestly take care of me?"

"Didn't I tell you the first day we got involved that I would?"

She nodded. "But this doesn't mean that I'm completely reliant on you."

"I know. But I'll be here for you if you need me."

"Thank-you, Chazzy."

He wiped away her tears and held her closer. She smiled a little, feeling better as he embraced her. At least she had Chazz to comfort her and love her. And she knew he wouldn't ever beat her. If only she could find some way to get Zane back to normal. If only they could go back to the way things had been.

* * *

**A/N: Crappy ending. Anyway, I hope you liked: )**

**Next time: The beatings grow worse and Alexis' and Chazz's relationship becomes more strained. Now that Zane has become possessive too, will Alexis be able to stand keeping it a secret? And who is the dark figure in her window?**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: This chapter probably has one of the most radical changes--I added a duel. Now, I worked for hours on it, researching cards and the such. It's my first written duel, so it's probably crappy. Still, I tried my hardest to make it accurate and correct. It's that important to me. Nevertheless, if you find any errors, please tell me. I will take it down and revise it--again. Because it means that much to me that it's correct. **

**Ok, revised AGAIN. Thank you for pointing that out quickly, King Eagle. I fixed it to the best of my ability, and I used your suggested method of planning. It really helped. But I still messed up because my brain hasn't been working lately. I apologize. D: I'll try harder and I WILL do better. Thanks for your patience.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own GX.**

* * *

Chapter 10: 

Alexis stood at the dock, waiting for Zane. She still didn't know why she let him get away with this. Why did she let him beat her? She didn't know. All she knew was it hurt her more and more each time.

Neither did she know why she even went out to meet him anymore. Maybe she felt as though she had no choice. After all, wouldn't he hunt her down anyway? Yes, she decided, he would. There was no point hiding from him. She might as well face him.

She sighed as the wind played with her hair. Shivering, she hugged herself and thought about how it was getting cold. And exactly why had Chancellor Shepherd chosen such skimpy uniforms for the girls? Perhaps he was a pervert who lacked practicality.

At that moment, Zane stepped up to his usual place beside her. She refused to look at him. No longer was she afraid of him. At that moment, she was just hurt. She simply wanted her freedom back. Part of her was completely fed up and ready to defy him, while part of her was willing to do whatever it took to keep him as mellow as possible.

"Alexis, why don't you look at me?"

She glanced up at him, fearing that he'd become angry with her if she didn't. "Hi, Zane. How are you doing?"

"Drop the formality." He muttered, "We've known each other for years."

"I'm sorry." She murmured, letting her eyes drop, "I just wanted to know how you were." It took every ounce of her self control to keep from being defiant. She managed to sound somewhat submissive. For the time being, she had to keep him calm.

"In that case, not so good."

She looked up, surprised. He was beginning to sound like his old self now. Hopeful, she looked right into his teal eyes. However, they were still cold and unfeeling. Her broken spirit sank lower. "What's wrong?"

"I can't seem to get the feeling of victory I desire. Winning all these duels means nothing to me. Nothing is good enough."

"Maybe you just want to be loved?" She suggested timidly, which was quite unlike her nature.

His eyes shifted in her direction. "Perhaps I just haven't been trying hard enough. Or maybe my opponents are just too weak."

"What happened to you?" she whispered, taking his face in the palms of her hands despite her fear, "You used to respect your opponents."

"Well, not anymore!" he snapped, slapping her hands away.

She cried out at the force he had slapped them away.

"And there's another thing too," he began, heaving with anger, "That Princeton kid, that snobby, snotty, little rich brat--what is he to you? What does he have that I don't? What can make you have sex with him but not me? Haven't you ever considered how I might feel? Haven't you ever thought that I might want to have you for myself?"  
She backed away in fright, stunned at his words. How did he know so much about her and Chazz? "Zane, I-I'm sorry…he's nothing to me, I swear!"

"Then why do you treat him the way you do? Why do you give him yourself all the time? And why do you gaze at him with such tender affection in your eyes? Oh, no, of course he's nothing to you. You love him, don't you?"

"No, I don't!" she protested, shaking her head and stomping her foot, "I don't, I don't, I don't, I DON'T!!!! I don't love him, Ok? I never did and I never will!"

She felt anger rising inside her chest as she spat this out. No, she didn't love him. How could she? And why should Zane misinterpret her affections as such? They were lovers, but the love was one-sided. Yes, she liked him a great deal, but that was all. She squeezed her eyes shut convincing herself that this was true.

But, if she didn't love him, why did she have sex with him? Why did she constantly give herself to him? Hadn't she told herself she would never do that with a guy unless he was something special? And right after she'd told herself that, she'd offered her virginity to him. What did this all mean? She was terribly confused at this point.

"Well, Alexis, you do love him, don't you?" Zane snapped, taking a step towards her.

She stepped back. "No!"

"You do, don't you? Why aren't you telling me the truth?" He continued his advance towards her.

"No, I don't!" She continued to back away.

"Well, then, are you a slut? Why else would you have sex with him? Are you a gold digger who just wants his money? Did he pay you? Or does it just look good for a billionaire like him to be with the most beautiful, popular, and talented Queen of Obelisk blue?"

"No, stop! You've got it all wrong!"

"I suggest you tell me the truth and refrain from speaking to me in such a manner!" he snapped, quickening his pace towards her.

She took one last step back. Her foot slipped on the edge of the dock, and she lost her balance. She gave a small cry of surprise as she started to fall.

Even more surprising was Zane's reaction. His eyes grew wide as his hand shot out, seizing her wrist and preventing her from falling into the murky water.

He pulled her close as she shivered from the adrenaline rush. "I'm sorry."

She jolted at these words. "What?"

"I said, I'm sorry, dammit!" He glared down at her, "I never meant for you to fall."

"It's no big deal. I can swim. It's not like I would have died."

"Alexis, look at me."

When she looked up into his teal eyes, she gasped slightly. In them, she saw the overprotective older brother Zane had been to her. He leaned down and brushed his lips gently to hers. Feeling her heart beginning to pound, she wondered if he had returned to her.

As she felt herself begin to kiss him back, she wondered why she was feeling this way over him. Why should she? She knew she shouldn't, especially after the way he'd treated her.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she let her hands drift into his thick, dark teal hair as she pulled him into a deeper kiss. He gently touched his tongue to her lips. She hesitated, but finally let him in.

After a moment, he pulled away a little to tell her, "I don't want you messing around with someone else. I don't want you sleeping around, either."

She gulped as he leaned in for another kiss. She really hoped he wasn't asking her to sleep with him.

He rubbed her back and pulled her up against him. She blushed as she felt his hand sliding down her back until he had placed it over her bottom. She jolted when he slipped his hand up her skirt.

"Zane," she told him, pulling slightly away, "don't get any ideas. I'm not putting out for you."

"Why do you put out for Chazz?"

She worded her response carefully. "Because…I don't really know why. All I know is that he adores me and is very careful with me. I know he won't talk about me behind my back, and I know he'll respect me. He won't hurt me and he'll treat me like a lady. He's very kind to me and I know he doesn't just want sex from me. He doesn't expect it."

"Oh, but he will. He probably asks you all the time."

"Actually, it's me that asks him." She admitted, blushing.

"That's not exactly lady-like." He murmured, frowning.

"I know. It's just…I can't help it. Something about him intrigues me…something about him keeps me coming back for more. And not just for sex…he's exotic, fun, and exciting. He's rich in personality, I mean."

Zane scowled. "And you don't think I could treat you like that? You don't think that of me?"

She felt trapped. "I-I…you're different from Chazz. But it's not necessarily bad; at least, when you're Zane and not this person. You're…you. Besides, you haven't exactly treated me well as of recently. You've not been yourself. How can you possibly expect me to respect you for that?"

As soon as she'd said it, she wished she could take it back. He glowered down at her. "You think _what_ of me?"

"I-I…"

"Look, Alexis, I don't want you near him again. Do you hear me? I don't want you around any other guys any more."

His eyes searched hers, hungering for her affections exclusively. He looked at her so maliciously, it caused her to recoil and attempt to wrest free of his grip.

"Let me go!"

"Never again…" he snarled, "Now listen to me; you are going to come with me."

"Where?" She looked up at him with eyes that shimmered like diamonds in the moonlight.

He dragged her towards the Obelisk boys' dorm. "You're coming to my room."

Her heart sank. "Why?"

"You're going to have sex with me."

Her heart began to pound. "No, I don't want to!"

Despite her cries, he dragged her up to his room. As she became increasingly louder, he grew all the more annoyed. Finally, he gave her a sharp blow across the face to shut her up.

"All right! Listen, here's how it'll work," he snapped, dragging her in his room, "We'll duel for it. If you win, you go free, however, if I win, you have to have sex with me."

She shook her head. "I can't agree to those--"

He smacked her sharply across the face. "SHUT UP!!! You will agree or I will hurt you…and Chazz."

She bit her lip. "Chazz can most definitely fend for himself."

"Not against me." He assured her, then commanded, "Now duel me."

"But, I--" She tried desperately to escape.

He seized her wrist and refused to let her go. "Not on your life!"

Finally, accepting defeat, she sighed and agreed.

Smirking, he said, "Good. Now put these on."

"What are they?"

Ignoring her question, he strapped two bands around her forearms and one around her neck. She shivered as he did so. Then, he put the same bands around his own forearms and neck.

"Let's get this over with."

"But, what are--"

"Just shut up and duel."

"Fine. I'll go first." Scowling, she drew her cards, then smirked. "I play Blade Skater in attack mode (1400)." She watched as her purple skinned monster appeared, balancing on the tip toes of her skates. She could not help but smile as she thought fondly of her. How many times she had used the skater; she had never failed her. Quickly, she turned her thoughts back to the duel. "Now, I lay a face down and end my turn."

"Is that all?" Zane scoffed, "Whatever. I play Cyber Dragon in attack mode (2100)."

Immediately, a sleek, silver dragon appeared on the field. Alexis gazed up at it, feeling sad. How could something so beautiful be in the hands of one so wicked? It felt as though the poor creature were calling out to her to help it. However, there was nothing she could do to save it. In order to do that, she'd have to save Zane first.

Zane continued his turn, pulling her from her thoughts. "If you're wondering how come I could summon a Level 5 monster so quickly, then let me introduce you to his special ability. Since you have a monster on your side, and I have none on mine, I'm allowed to summon him. Nice ability, don't you think?"

She frowned and bit her lip; her reply dripped with sarcasm. "Yeah sure."

"Well, I guess I should drop all this small talk, then. Cyber Dragon, attack!"

Alexis growled. "Not so fast! I activate my trap card. Negate Attack! This cancels out your Cyber Dragon's attack. I'm safe for this turn." She breathed a sigh of relief as a strong wind blew the dragon back to Zane's side of the field. If Zane wanted to get to her body, first he'd have to win the duel. She wasn't just going to give in without a decent fight.

Zane frowned deeply. "Fine. I lay two face downs and end my turn."

Alexis took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and drew. She knew that she'd need a miracle to win this duel. Finally, she opened her eyes and looked at her hand. "I summon Etoile Cyber in attack mode (1200)!" She watched as a lithe girl with slightly curly red locks appeared. She stood proud, the cream ribbons flowing from her arms and the sheer tutu falling against her figure. Once more, Alexis had to tear her attention away. Even then, she was still fascinated by her monsters and their great power. "Now, I use Polymerization to fuse Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater to form Cyber Blader (2100)! Now, attack!" Even though he didn't have any defense for his monster, she didn't let her guard down or relax. Rather, she tensed up all the more. She hoped with all her heart her attack would go through to his life points. She bit her lip as she watched the raven haired beauty skate gracefully towards the metallic dragon.

Zane only kept smirking as Cyber Blader destroyed Cyber Dragon. In fact, he seemed to think the resulting explosion was funny. "Both our monsters will be destroyed. It's a draw, so it really doesn't matter."

Alexis shook her head. "That's not true, Zane. Remember, Cyber Blader's special ability keeps her from being destroyed. Your monster, however, is sent to the graveyard." She shook her head as the smoke cleared. "I don't get you."

"What's there to get?" He asked, smirking, "Cyber Dragon was destroyed. So what?"

"The old Zane would have never allowed that card to be destroyed. He would've done anything in order to save his monster." She glared at him.

"How boring," Zane yawned, "So predictable. I'm growing old here. Hurry up and finish your turn."

"Aren't you going to do anything more?" She asked, aghast.

"No, I think I'll save that for next turn." He smirked, glancing down at his face down. "Go on, finish up already!"

"Yeesh, Ok!" She clenched her teeth and looked over her cards. "Fine. I lay a face down and call it a turn."

"Good. In that case, I play Mystical Space Typhoon and destroy your face down."

"Great," She muttered as a large, dark whirlwind caused her Rising Energy trap to be destroyed.

"I thought you'd say something like that," He said, shaking his head. "You can't win, Lexi."

"Don't call me that!" She seethed.

"I'm getting bored," He yawned again, "Let's speed this up, shall we? I play from my hand Pot of Greed. This, of course, allows me to draw two more cards. Then, I play Monster Reborn. I call back my Cyber Dragon to the field. Next, I play Polymerization! With it, I send Cyber Dragon and the other two Cyber Dragons in my hand to the graveyard to call forth The Cyber End Dragon (4000) !"

She stared up at his trademark monster, unfazed. The way she saw it, she had enough protection to shield her from a great loss. Still, she had to be careful. Gritting her teeth, she braced herself. She knew what was next.

"Cyber End Dragon, attack!"

Alexis clenched her teeth as the monstrous dragon shot an electric blast at her monster. "Sorry, Zane," She smirked, "But Cyber Blader's special ability keeps her from being destroyed in battle."

"I wouldn't be worried about your monster," He told her, "Be worried about yourself."

"What?" As her life points dropped to 1900, she soon realized what he was talking about. Electric pain shot through her. She screamed and dropped to the floor, clutching her arm.

Zane laughed wickedly. Alexis found this to be more than slightly disturbing. She gaped at him, horrified. Was he really planning on killing her?

"What's your problem?"

"My problem? What's yours?" Zane asked, laughing a bit more, "You don't have any clue what's coming for you. Now, I lay a face down and end my turn."

"Yes, I do know what's coming!" She snapped, "I know what you're doing. And mind you, I know what I'm doing." Scowling, she stood up and turned back to her cards. She drew then said, "I place a face down and end my turn."

"Very well." Zane muttered, drawing. "Now I draw. Next, I'll play De-fusion to turn Cyber End Dragon into three Cyber Dragons. Then, I play Power Bond and fuse the three Cyber Dragons back together to create a more powerful Cyber End Dragon (8000)." The three-headed metallic dragon appeared once more. It spread its great wings out, floating by some unseen power above the field. Alexis could not help but tremble in its awesome presence this time. Never before had she fought such a powerful monster, especially with such little defense. At this point, her confidence dropped. She did not know what she could do. "Now, Cyber End Dragon, attack!"

"Not so fast, Truesdale." Alexis growled, still shaken, "I reveal my facedown. Dimension Wall! With this trap, I can turn the battle damage around to you. Looks like I'm still here." She smirked a little as she began to regain her self esteem.

Zane laughed, unable to contain himself. "Did you really think I'd let you off that easy? Yeah right. You're only an amateur. Reveal facedown! Trap Jammer will take care of that one. So, once again, you are defenseless. Sure, your Cyber Blader won't be destroyed, but you will be."

Alexis gasped as Cyber End Dragon attacked, knocking her life points down to zero. Dropping to her knees, she felt as though her life had been stripped of her. Before she had time to begin to recover her emotional shock, the electrodes strapped to her forearms and neck activated, sending electricity through her body.

"Zane!" She cried out in agony, "Make it stop!"

He smirked. "You'll learn to love it. I live for it. It's so invigorating and it reminds me why I enjoy dueling: to watch my opponent writhe and scream in pain, and knowing that I am strong enough to resist it. In fact, I've gotten to the point that I enjoy it! The pain is pleasurable to me."

Alexis stared at him with teary eyes. "This is madness, Zane, stop it now! You're hurting me…and yourself! Is this really what you do all the time?"

He smirked in response.

"Please make it stop!"

"What happened? Did Chazz soften your heart? You don't know what it's like to be a true duelist. You don't know the true definition of victory until you've seen your opponent in pain. No, you don't know the true meaning of dignity. You hardly can even be deemed as a worthy opponent. In fact, you hardly tried at all. That wasn't exactly your best shot out there. It was pathetic. It was almost as though you had forgotten all that you had learned."

Alexis writhed on the floor, still in incredible pain. Once more, the electrodes sent a bolt of electricity through her spine. The resulting shock was so strong it caused her to cry out loudly. Before he could prevent her from making any other noise, she curled up in a ball on the floor and screamed.

Quickly, he moved to quiet her. She would not be silenced. As electric agony shot through her, she fought to suppress it, but the screams came anyway. None of his futile attempts could even muffle her cries. Soon, there was a loud knock on the door.

"What the hell is going on in there?" Chazz's voice snapped.

Zane scowled as he clamped a hand over Alexis' mouth. "Nothing. You may go."

Alexis sobbed, biting his hand harder and harder, and fighting with all her might. She thrashed and wriggled and squirmed. She would have hit him or kicked him had he not been restraining her and had her limbs not suddenly gone numb. Weakness overpowered her.

Sensing that something was wrong, Chazz banged on the door again. "If you don't open up, I'll call Dr. Crowler."

"What can he do?" Zane snorted, realizing that there was no sense in trying to hide it. "Even you can't do anything."

"I know you've got Alexis in there. What have you done to her? I swear, if you hurt her, I'll kill you!"

Zane merely laughed at Chazz's threat. Alexis, on the contrary, shuddered at how serious and cold he sounded. She knew he would if he could.

"You hurt her, didn't you?" Chazz was sounding increasingly colder, "If you don't let me in, Zane Truesdale, I'll bust the door down."

"Like you could. Like you'd dare."

"I can and I will."

Alexis cringed as she heard Chazz attempting to break the door down. Zane just scoffed at the youngest Princeton's attempts.

"You're a coward!" Chazz snapped.

"You're only saying that because you can't open the door."

"No, I'm saying that because you won't face me!"

"You're the one threatening to go get Dr. Crowler."

Chazz growled in response.

"Can't break the door down, can you? Well, I'll tell you what, I will open the door. But you'll regret it. I'll give you five seconds to leave. If you don't, then I will open the door, and it won't be for a welcoming party either."

"Fine! Bring it on, Truesdale, I'm up for the challenge."

"You don't know what you're up for."

"Oh, I know all right!"

Zane smirked. "As you wish. Five…four….three…two….one. Time's up, Princeton. Let's just hope you're man enough to back up all that tough talk."

Zane flung open the door. Chazz rushed in, looking flustered. When he saw Alexis lying on the ground, unable to move, he whirled towards Zane.

"What the HELL did you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything to her. Nothing that she couldn't have prevented with one word, anyway."

"Truesdale, I swear, if I don't kill you…then may I go to hell."

Zane ignored this. "What are you planning to do to stop me? You can't do anything. You're weak. You haven't figured out the true meaning of dueling like I have."

"That's it!"

Chazz swung at Zane. Zane merely ducked his blow and tried to return one. However, Chazz dodged it nimbly and landed a heavy kick on Zane's leg, sending him flying to the floor. Before he had time to recover, Chazz grabbed his arms and twisted them behind his back.

"I'm the weak one, huh? More like you are!"

Zane growled and swerved his feet towards Chazz, knocking him with such force it made him release his grip. Alexis winced as Chazz hit the wall.

"You filthy son-of-a-bitch!" Chazz gasped, picking himself up.

"Talk is cheap," Zane snapped, seizing him by the throat, "you should know that by now."

Chazz kicked at his legs again, and tried to flip him. It was to no avail. Zane merely shut his hands tighter around Chazz's throat.

"I told you you'd regret it," Zane hissed, digging his fingers into Chazz's neck, "And now you're going to pay with your life. This will teach you to mess with my girlfriend!"

"You…bastard…" Chazz wheezed, glaring sharply, although he was facing death.

Alexis struggled to get to her feet. Seeing she was coming to, Zane reached his foot out and dealt a heavy blow to her head. She collapsed back to the floor.

Chazz clawed at Zane's hands and did his best to free himself. Zane only smirked and held his neck tighter.

"Soon, you'll be dead. Then, no one will ever take my Lexi from me again."

Seeing that Zane had let down his guard, Chazz kicked him sharply across the knee. His reflex set in, causing him to crumple and lose hold of Chazz. Chazz wasted no time in striking.

Despite his lack of oxygen, Chazz leapt on Zane, clawing at him and punching and kicking. Zane fought back, trying to gain the upper hand again.

"Don't…you…ever…hurt…MY…Lexi…again!" Chazz snapped between blows.

Chazz slammed Zane into the floor again and again, screaming that he would kill him. Finally, desperate for escape, Zane managed to pull out a pocket knife. He held it to Chazz's throat.

"Let me go."

Chazz froze. He knew that if he were dead, there'd be no one to help Alexis. Looking over at her unconscious figure, he decided he must do what was best.

Slowly, he eased off of Zane. Zane stood up, still holding the knife with a trembling hand. He pointed it at Chazz, his eyes flashing with pure hatred.

"I don't want you to touch Alexis."

Chazz swallowed hard and refused to respond.

"And I don't want you to talk to her, either. She's mine, do you understand? You can have no part of her."

"I'll do with her as I wish." He dared to say.

Zane scowled and clenched the knife tighter. "You may be out of my reach," he told Chazz in eerie calm, "but I'm between you and Alexis. I can still hurt her."

He turned to Alexis and, jerking her roughly up, held the knife to her throat. Chazz's eyes widened as Zane pressed the blade flat against her neck, against her jugular.

"One flick of my wrist," Zane told him quietly, "and she's dead."

Chazz swallowed hard and stared helplessly at Zane. "I can't let her die," he said, "But I can't leave her alone, either. That's against my better judgment, Zane. If I leave her, then who will protect her? I promised her."

"People break their promises," Zane told him coldly, "I broke mine."

"I'm not like you," Chazz protested, "And I won't leave her. I won't hurt her."

"Oh, but you are hurting her," Zane told him, smirking wickedly, "Because every second you refuse to leave her, and relinquish your position as he lover, is another second you're hurting her, another second closer to her death."

Chazz shuddered as Zane pressed the knife harder to Alexis' throat. The skin of her neck pressed over the blade, drawing crimson to the surface.

"It's your choice," Zane whispered, gripping the knife tighter.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Chazz tried to think of some way he could save Alexis. His mind drew a blank. Opening his eyes, he sighed and looked back at Zane.

"I--" he began.

"Too late!" Zane snapped, rage filling his eyes, "I warned you!"

Chazz bit his lip and jumped towards Zane to try to stop him. Zane lifted the knife and started to bring it down violently. Before he could finish, though, he froze. His eyes widened and he dropped the knife. Curling up, he gripped his chest.

Chazz took the moment to seize Alexis and run out the door with her. He didn't even look over his shoulder as Zane began to cry out from a pain greater than he'd ever experienced before.

--------------------------------------------------

When Alexis awoke, she found that she was back in her room. Confused, she tried to open her eyes all the way. Pain shot through her head as she did so. Quickly, she shut them again before the pain caused her to pass out.

"Zane?" She called feebly.

She became aware of something solid and warm lying next to her. Her heart thumped, sending another shot of pain through her. He couldn't have…could he?

"Zane?" She called again, her voice weak.

Whoever was lying next to her cuddled closer and put his arms around her. She allowed herself to be drawn near because the gesture was gentle and tender. She felt someone tuck her head in the crook of his neck.

She sniffed his cologne. He smelled familiar. Sniffing again, she recognized the scent as being cinnamon. She felt his lips massage hers, and she recognized the taste. Chocolate and mint. It wasn't Zane, it was Chazz.

"Chazz?" She whimpered, cuddling closer, "What happened?"

He cradled her in his arms. "Let's not talk about it."

"Are you Ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine. What about you? You really worried me."

"No," she faltered, "I'm not Ok. I'm scared. I can't open my eyes...it hurts. The pain is so great; I can't bear it. What if I'm blind? What if I die?"

"No, you won't, I promise you. Here, take this." He pressed a pill against her lips.

"What is it?"

"It's only aspirin. You'll need it."

"Aspirin won't help. I need morphine for this!" she moaned.

He kept the aspirin pill to her lips. Finally, she accepted it. Then, he pressed the rim of a glass to her lips. She took a sip, swallowed, then eased back down.

After a moment, he asked, "What'd he do to you?"

Alexis shivered. "He wanted me to have sex with him."

Chazz was silent, so Alexis continued. "I told him I wouldn't, so he told me to duel for it. Then, when I didn't agree, he threatened me. Of course, he won…and he electrocuted me somehow. It knocked me out. Can you believe he did that? And if it weren't for you, he'd have raped me!"

"Or killed you," Chazz muttered.

"What'd you do with Zane?"

Chazz was silent for a moment. "Oops."

She felt a cold chill wash over her. "What do you mean, 'oops'?"

"I left him there, I mean, I couldn't do anything. I had to get you out of there."

She shuddered. "Now what?"

"I don't know."

"You could at least call the cops!"

"But, Alexis, we have no proof."

"Chazz, you're freaking rich! Why are you resisting this?"

"I just don't think it's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Zane was our friend."

"That's not Zane!"

"What if he comes back?"

Alexis hesitated. Finally, bursting into tears again. "You're right. I can't do that to him. I don't have the heart."

Chazz sighed heavily.

Alexis then wiped her tears away. "But, I'm confused. You said you would kill him!"

"That was then. I've had time to think this over. Something happened to Zane. Something changed him. Can't you see he needs our help? We can't just stand by and let him destroy himself. We have to help him."

She pondered this. "Chazz, that sounds like something I would say. You know what, you're right. We have to do something. But what?"

"Well, we don't know exactly what is wrong with him."

"I guess there's nothing we can do then." She groaned.

"Well, we'll figure something out. As for now, you should get some rest."

"But, Chazz, if he's still out there, then he could come in and hurt you at any time. How can you even consider resting? We have to stay on guard."

"You need the rest!" he insisted, "Now, go to sleep."

"Besides," she told him worriedly, "Zane said that you and I couldn't--"

"Fuck Zane!"

She jumped. For the five years she'd known him, she'd never heard him say that word. Afraid that she had made him angry, she grew silent.

He continued with his rant, growing angrier. "Fuck that fucking bastard and all his fucking glory! I don't give a fuck what he says because I'm not going to fucking listen to that fucktard! Do you understand me?"

Alexis nodded, shaking. When he noticed her fear, his anger subsided and his expression softened, although she couldn't see it.

"I'm sorry, Lexi, I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't cuss around you. Or at all."

"It's Ok." She whimpered, "Just don't hurt me."

"Do you honestly think I'd do that?" He asked, injured, "I'd never hurt you! I love you, for Pete's sake. I promise you, no matter how mad I get, I'll never treat you like Zane does."

She only nodded and kept her eyes squeezed shut. However, she wouldn't allow herself to cry.

Chazz sighed. "I'm going to go wash my mouth out." He got up and went into the bathroom.

Alexis lay still in the silence of her room. By then, her headache and pain had subsided. Slowly, she tried to open her eyes again. She blinked in the darkness until her eyes adjusted.

She stared at the shadows around the room, remembering how she had used to be afraid of the dark. Now, she felt comforted by it, and shadows didn't scare her so much.

But one shadow did seem strangely out of place. Squinting, she tried to recall what it was. It didn't look like anything she had in her room. She watched it closely. Had it been just her, or had it moved? A sick feeling washed over her.

Slowly, she let her eyes drift to the window. A dark silhouette swayed slightly in her window. She lay perfectly still, watching it. The only noises she heard were the water running in the bathroom and the thumping of her heart.

She studied the silhouette more carefully. Whatever it was had a wide shape perched atop, like a hat. Outside, the wind blew, causing the branches to move slightly and the clouds to uncover the moon. She gasped softly as she saw what looked like a cape or a jacket lifted in the wind.

The moon illuminated the man's face, casting eerie shadows on his features. Alexis could not see him clearly enough, but she knew she did not recognize him.

He did not seem to notice that she'd spotted him. He only slipped away down into the shadows and out of sight.

Alexis lay still, heart pounding. At that moment, Chazz came out of the bathroom. Their eyes met. Seeing her terrified expression, he quickly slipped in bed beside her and wrapped her in his arms.

"What's the matter?"

Wondering if it had been an apparition or a dream, she shook her head, deciding to offer him little information. "It's nothing. I'm just scared Zane will come back."

He shrugged it off and assured her, "Don't worry about Zane. I'll protect you."

Snuggling into his arms, she thought, "I know you can protect me from Zane, but can you protect me from him?"

Shivering harder, she wondered who the man had been. Somehow, he seemed familiar, oddly familiar. And somehow, she knew, within him lurked a greater danger than in her old friend. Little did she know how dangerous he actually was.

* * *

**A/N: WHEW! Finally finished. Long chappy. XD**

**Next time: Zane speaks again with his boss. Alexis and Jaden get dangerously close, and Chazz begins to wonder if Katiann has something to do with all of this.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: So I don't think this chapter is gonna be very good. I don't think it'll quite follow what I had planned either, but, hey, that's writing for ya.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own GX.**

* * *

Chapter 11:

Alexis stood near the doorway of the classroom, nervously peering in. Chazz was already inside, sitting at his desk and looking bored. She blushed and took a deep breath, uncertain as to why she was suddenly so loath to talk to him. Perhaps it was because of Zane. No, that couldn't be it. She was just unsure of what to say to him. And she didn't know why.

There were, of course, other reasons why she didn't want to face him. After the way Zane had treated her, she was afraid to communicate with any guy, much less one that she'd been so intimate with. What if he turned on her? What if he raped her? Well, this was ridiculous since all he would have to do was ask and she would allow it. Maybe she was just worried he'd abuse his privilege and her affections.

Not to mention she did not want to tell him about the man. He had continued to show up outside her window every night around the same time. He never said anything or did anything; he only stood there and watched her. She had begun to suspect that he might be a student playing a trick on her…or he was a pervert. She shuddered at this thought. She didn't like to admit it, but the more she thought about him and the more he showed up, the more fearful she became.

In fact, she'd lost quite a bit of sleep over it. She really just wished she could move in with someone. However, Jasmine and Mindy were of little help. And Zane was the one causing the trouble. Not to mention that Jaden and her were still on awkward terms. And somehow, she couldn't bring herself to ask Chazz. Which brought her back to her first problem of not being able to communicate with him. Her head spun in confusion.

Finally, she timidly stepped inside, doing her best to avoid eye contact. She put her things down and started to walk out, hoping he wouldn't thwart her attempt.

"Hey, Lex, where are you going?"

She froze and looked up at him. "Um…"

He raised an eyebrow, then smirked. "Come up here and talk to me."

She shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know…I don't think I can…"

"What else do you have to do?"

"Um…"

"That's what I thought. Now come here."

Finally, she relented and sat next to him, feeling awkward and self-conscious. Yet, though she felt that way, she was also happy that he wanted to talk to her. She was awfully confused.

He stretched an arm over her shoulders. "So, how's it going? Feel any better?"

She just nodded. "It's been a couple of days. I'm all right now."

"Have you seen…"

"No, actually, I haven't. I think he left for awhile. I don't know where he went, though."

"Maybe he got scared and ran away." Chazz smirked.

Alexis sighed and rolled her eyes. "No, I don't think so. It doesn't really matter, though; I'm just glad he's gone."

"Me too." Chazz leaned over and brushed his lips to her cheek.

"Chazz…"

He only smiled and wrapped his arms tightly around her thin waist. She melted against him and closed her eyes as he began to kiss her neck over and over again.

"Lex, you've seemed like you feel awkward around me today. What's wrong? Did I do something?"

"What makes you think I feel like that?" she asked nervously.

"You usually talk to me or something. And I can see it in your eyes."

She blushed and looked away. "I-I don't know. I just feel kind of…off today." However, deep inside, she knew this wasn't the case. As much as she hated to admit it, her feelings for the raven-haired boy were changing--they were intensifying. And she didn't like it. In the meantime, though, she'd content herself with showering him with affection and pretending that it was only because she craved his love and attention.

Thinking more on the subject, she figured that she might as well try to develop a stronger emotional bond with him. After all, she could tell him anything, couldn't she? Besides, the whole business with Zane and the stranger was really starting to bother her. She just wanted to talk to him and be comforted by his presence and his words.

Opening her eyes, she looked up at him. "Chazz, can we go somewhere more…private?"

He looked confused. "Why?"

"I just want to be alone with you. I don't want anyone to walk in on us and hear us talking or anything."

"So you have something to say to me now?"

She nodded, and took his hand. "Come on."

He stood up and let her lead him to the janitor's closet. She quietly slipped inside, pulling him with her, then shut the door.

"Well?"

She bit her lip. "There's something that's been bothering me."

"What? Did something happen?" She saw his concerned expression, even in the darkness of the closet.

"It's just that…" She paused. Could she really tell him? But, if she kept her fear bottled up any longer she thought she'd explode. "I--there's been this person who I think is spying on me…"

"Who? Atticus? Slacker?" He looked disgusted.

"No, I don't think it'd be Jaden. And Atticus…it just couldn't be him, although that is something he would do."

"So…"

"So I think…well, I'm paranoid, I mean. It worries me. I'm afraid of him."  
Chazz bristled. "When does he spy on you? When you're getting dressed? When you're showering? Tell me what he looks like and I'll beat the crap out of him!"

"It's not that easy," she sighed, beginning to relax seeing that he was truly worried. "I mean, I don't really know what he looks like because he was in the shadows. I can't describe him."

He was strangely quiet for a moment. She continued to stare at the floor. Neither spoke for a long time. Finally:

"You don't trust me, do you?" Chazz asked softly.

She said nothing in response.

"Alexis…what's wrong? What have I done to blow your trust? If you could just tell me, maybe we can clear things up--"

She threw her arms around his neck. "But, Chazz, I do trust you! It's not like I have any reason not to. Well, I might be paranoid about you sometimes, but you've proven yourself to me. Despite the way you act towards everyone else, you're so kind to me it doesn't matter. Please, don't bother with it. I just wanted to tell you. And--" She quickly cut herself off before she could tell him how she felt about him.

He cocked his head a bit, looking at her with curious eyes. His expression melted her heart. How she wanted to tell him! She bit her lip and decided to show him instead. The words just wouldn't come out.

Slowly, she pulled away and took his hands in hers, all the while looking right into his eyes. She leaned back against the wall and pulled him closer, and placed his palms on her breasts. Red crept into his cheeks as she pressed his hands closer, yet she never tore her gaze from his.

"I trust you," was all she whispered, hoping he would take the hint.

He simply nodded as his fingers undid her jacket, as though on automatic. His onyx eyes widened as her cleavage was revealed to him slowly. A slight blush graced her cheeks, for she was embarrassed to have not put anything on underneath her jacket.

"What the--"

"Shhh." She placed a finger to his lips.

"Were you planning this?"

"No," she answered honestly, "I just didn't want to wear anything under it. My bra felt too tight and my boobs were kind of sore…"

"Then why do you want me messing with them?"

"Maybe you can make them feel better?" she looked up at him with genuine affection in her eyes.

"What made it--"

"Zane." She murmured, "Remember? I'm still hurting a bit from that last encounter."

He looked at her with tender, adoring eyes as he took her face in the palm of his hand. "You poor thing. I'll make it better."

She smiled a bit as he began to softly massage her breasts. His finger traced her nipples, then went in between her breasts down to her navel. He dipped his finger in and traced the outline before going back up. She blushed deeper as he leaned down and touched his lips to her nipples, then licked them gently.

"You're naughty." She muttered, entangling her fingers in his thick ebony hair.

He smirked, burying his mouth in her neck, then biting down on it. She gave a very soft, almost inaudible moan. Taking care to be gentle, he brushed his fingers across her skin, causing it to tingle in a most pleasing manner. She involuntarily reached out and seized his belt. Even when she realized it, she didn't stop. Slowly, she undid the buckle and unbuttoned his pants.

"What are you planning on doing?" he asked.

She blushed. "Nothing…I'm just gonna…"

"Gonna what?" His smirk grew bigger.

She failed to respond.

He thus took it on himself to ease her discomfort. Much to her surprise, he pushed her closer to the wall and pressed his hips to hers. She smiled a little, though nervous, and let him push up against her. Blushing deeper, she realized she could feel his erection.

"Chazz…"

"I'm not gonna do anything more, I promise." He cradled her breasts in his hands. "Ok? Do you trust me?"

She swallowed hard, but nodded.

"Good." He smirked wider as he pushed harder against her.

She gave a tiny gasp, and clutched his shoulders. His hands grasped her breasts tighter, leaving small, light red marks. Even though she winced a bit when he did this, she said nothing. It felt good in a sense. She sank lower, and pressed her own body to his.

"I want to make love to you," she gasped.

"I can tell." He murmured, kissing the tip of her ear. "I want to make love to you, too."

"But…we can't…not…now." She felt like her heart was going to jump out of her chest, and she found it difficult to breathe.

"I know." He leaned over, and licked her lips.

Still breathing heavily, she parted her lips, inviting him to French kiss her. He leaned down and melted his mouth into hers, sliding his tongue sensually over hers. She found her hands moving down his body and towards the zipper of his pants. Blushing, she began to touch him, hoping to pleasure him somewhat. He moaned softly against her tongue as she played with his length.

Smirking, she pulled away, still tasting chocolate and mint on her tongue. "You're so big."

He blushed even redder. "Don't say that…"

She nuzzled the crook of his neck. "It's true."

He shrugged it off and tentatively leaned down, taking one of her breasts gently in his mouth. She arched her back against the wall, letting him slightly suck on it. Seeing how sexual he was becoming, and in such little time, she grew a little frightened. Even though she'd told him it was all right, and even though she was returning the gestures, it still bothered her. She decided to test him to see if his affections were really from love, or from lust.

"Please, Chazz, if you love me, stop tormenting me and take me."

"But you just said…"

"I can't stand it."

"We can't make love in the janitor's closet!"

"Well…" she finally agreed, "that is kind of disgusting."

"I'll give you some love later, I promise." He touched his finger to the tip of her nose.

She stared into his eyes, awestruck. To think, she had just offered him sex and he'd turned it down! Perhaps he really was as much as a gentleman as he liked to believe. After all, he was willing to put his own desires aside in order to be romantic and private about it. She felt relieved, seeing that he'd passed the test.

"Congrats, Chazz."

He looked suspicious. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you passed the test."

"That was a test?"

"Yeah, and I guess you really do love me."

He almost fell over. "You just now figured that out? You needed a test for that? Haven't I already proved that?"

"I got a little skeptical seeing how sexual you were getting. I had to make sure. I told you I felt that way sometimes." She kissed his cheek. "But I will admit, you have proven yourself before. You just scared me, that's all."

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her mouth again, causing her to shiver. "It's Ok, I understand."

Just as he was running his hands on the insides of her thighs, and she was wrapping one leg around his hip, they heard the door being opened.

"Oh, hell, not again!" Chazz hurriedly buttoned her jacket up and shoved her behind a large box. He quickly turned around and acted like was reaching for a box high atop a shelf.

"Chazz?" Jaden looked puzzled, "What are you doing in here?"

"Ummmmm…don't you have eyes? I'm getting this box of…cleaner for…Dr. Crowler." He growled.

Jaden looked unconvinced for a moment, causing Chazz to break into a nervous sweat. Then: "Oh, Ok!"

Chazz breathed a sigh of relief as Jaden started to walk out.

"Oh, and Chazz?"

"Yeah?"

"Your pants are unzipped. Might want to fix that."

Chazz laughed nervously and zipped them up. "Uh…thanks…slacker."

Jaden closed the door.

"That was a close one." Chazz sighed, pulling Alexis out of her hiding spot.

"Yeah," Alexis agreed.

"We'd better head to class."

"Yeah."

They stood in silence for a moment. Then, looked at each other and threw their arms around each other, once more engaging in a passionate kiss.

"We've got to stop," he gasped, his hands searching her body again.

"I know, but I don't want to!"

"Come on. Let's get out of here before we lose control."

They hurriedly exited the closet.

"You go on, Chazz, I'll catch up with you later. I have to go to my locker." Alexis then told him, realizing she'd forgotten her books.

"Ok." He agreed.

Alexis walked down the hall. Chazz watched her with fascination, as though she were an angel. Then, he turned and made his way down the hall in the opposite direction. However, just as he was about to enter the classroom, he got a nasty surprise.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Chazz Princeton, Duel Academy's next playboy."

He whirled around to see Katiann standing with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall and smirking.

"What do you mean? I'm not a playboy!"

"Oh, really? So you're going to deny that you've been sleeping around with Alexis Rhodes?"

Smirking more, she held up a camera. Leaning closer, he gasped, realizing that the picture had been taken only moments earlier when they'd been in the closet.

"How'd you…"

"I have my ways." She told him, stepping closer. "So, Chazzy, there's only one thing you can do to prevent Alexis from being labeled a slut."

"I won't do anything you tell me," he said bitterly, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, still," she looked annoyed, "If you don't want your sweet, innocent lover to be labeled as a whore, then you'd better listen to me. I want you to be my boyfriend and sleep with me. Otherwise, everyone will know about this. I'll call her parents. I'll call your parents. And your lives will be ruined."

He glowered at her. Now, perhaps Jaden, in a dimwitted moment, would've given in, but there was no way he'd let a girl like Katiann tell him what to do. His only reaction to her comment was absolute calm. He further appalled her by snatching her camera out of her hand, and flinging it out the window.

"It's not happening." Was all he said as he walked away, leaving her to stand there and sputter.

------------------------------------------------------

Zane stood at the dock, watching and waiting. A dark figure approached him, causing him to turn to greet him.

"You're late." He growled.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Truesdale, I got delayed. Now, I suppose we can get right down to business."

"As you like." Zane turned his head, looking indignant.

"Mr. Truesdale, we don't have much longer. You have to get rid of them. They're a threat to my career, my business, and my daughter."

"What does your daughter have to do with this?"

A slow smirk spread across the man's face. "She's the one that's been trying to prompt Alexis to seek me out. She was succeeding in causing Alexis to lose some hope and deepen her depression, however, the plan did not go as originally thought. That Princeton kid got in the way."

Zane ignored the man, acting as though he hadn't heard a word he'd said.

"Excuse me, but are you listening?"

"Be quiet, I'm thinking."

"But--"

"I said, silence!" Zane turned and glared with such intensity, the man stepped back. "Now, tell me; why would she be a threat?"

"I already told you, if she finds out that I was the one who transformed you into your glorious state, she'd shut down my business forever. I can't lose that money."

Zane snorted. "I don't have time to mess with you. Why should I listen to you? What's in it for me?"

"All the victory you could imagine. If you just stick with me--"

"I don't want to hear it!" Zane barked, then dropping his voice to a growl again, "You're on your own. I want no part of this. I see no possible way that this can benefit me. After all, I still wish for my integrity to remain intact. I refuse to tarnish my dignity by cheating!"

Huffing indignantly, he started to brush past the man.

"But, Mr. Truesdale…"

Zane turned, his teal eyes flashing coldly. "I work for no one. And I won't do your bidding. The only reason I have left to kill her is because she betrayed me! And the only reason I ever joined up with you in the first place was because I knew she'd abandoned me for Jaden. I had hoped that you could help me be the type of duelist she'd admire. Of course, that hardly worked. However, you showed me something far more valuable--I don't need others to make me great. I can use my own power to cause other people the pain I feel. I never needed you; I was simply using you to get a head start."

"But--"

"Silence, you fool, lest I decide to murder you as well. Now, I suggest you take your wretchedness out of my sight before I decide I've had enough of you."

"Mr. Truesdale, please--"

"I have no more need of you. Good evening, Mr. Shroud."

He stormed off, his black trench coat flying back as he strode angrily down the path.

Mr. Shroud frowned at Zane's back. "I won't give up my cause. I will finish her off. She's a threat to me now. Well, you know what they say. If they won't join you," he paused before loading a pistol, "kill them."

He disappeared into the night.

--------------------------------------------------------

Alexis stood outside Jaden's door, feeling apprehensive. Finally, raising a trembling hand, she knocked, hoping that Syrus and Chumley would not be there. After a moment, the door came open.

"Yeah?" Jaden yawned, looking sleepy.

Alexis smiled a bit, not being able to contain her amusement seeing him in a navy Pac-man shirt and bright blue Bubbleman sweatpants.

"Alexis? What are you doing here?" He asked sleepily.

"Jaden, are Chumley or Syrus here?"

"No."

"Good. Can I come in? I want to ask you something."

"Um….Ok…"

He stepped aside, letting her come into the room. She sat on his bed and looked up at him fearfully. Seeing her expression, he snapped out of his half-asleep state.

"What's wrong?"

Alexis took a deep breath. "Well, you see, I'm kind of afraid to live by myself now. I was just wondering if I could stay with you, just for tonight, so I can figure things out."

"Why me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why not Chazz? I mean, you and him have been kind of close…"

"Oh, um, I just…" She didn't want to tell him that she was upset and confused over her feelings for Chazz; however, he seemed to want an explanation. She sighed heavily, knowing she'd have to try to tell him why. How could she, though, when she didn't understand it herself? Sure, she'd felt comfortable with him for awhile, but then her feelings had rapidly changed on her yet again. She feared she'd never understand.

Jaden sat next to her, causing the bed springs to creak. She blushed as he sat closer to her.

"It's just what?"

"I-I can't go to Chazz. I-I feel too weird about him…because…I don't know why! But when I get talking to him, I relax. But when I'm thinking about him, I get anxious. I just can't go to him! I'm too scared. And I don't know what this feeling is. I've never felt so weak."

"I can't exactly help you." Jaden laughed, "I don't know what's going on either. Sorry. But if I could help, I would."

She smiled a bit. "I know you would, Jay."

"And, yeah, of course you can stay with me tonight. You can sleep in Sy or Chumley's bunk--"

She made a face. "No thanks. I don't trust Chumley's, and I don't really want to sleep in Syrus' either. I don't know why, I just feel weird about that too. I guess it's because I'm not exactly close to them. Say, where are they anyway?"

Jaden smiled. "I think they went to some sort of Dark Magician Girl event on mainland. I don't really remember the details."

"Why didn't you go?"

"I had other things to do. Besides, you needed me, right? I guess I just had a hunch that someone would need me."

"Doesn't someone always?"

"I guess. Wait, if you don't want to sleep in their bunks, where do you want to sleep?" He blinked, clueless.

She laughed softly, then blushed, feeling guilty. "With you."

Color flushed his cheeks as well. "You want to sleep with me? As in, with me in my bed? As in, next to me in my bed?"

She nodded, looking away. "I don't mean anything bad by it, Ok? I just feel really insecure and really worried. Nothing's calming me. And I can't get Chazz out of my head."

"Um, how does sleeping with me solve any of that?"

"Well, I honestly have no clue. I guess you'd just comfort me."

"Wouldn't you want to be with Chazz? Wouldn't that help?"

"I don't know, Jay. I just want to sleep with you. You're comforting."

He sighed. "Ok, ok, you can sleep with me."

"Thanks, Jay."

He only laughed nervously. She smiled and blushed as she crawled into bed next to him. Feeling safer, she snuggled against his arm and started to go to sleep.

Much to her surprise, he rolled over on his side and took her into his arms. Nevertheless, she slipped her own arms around him and lay close enough to feel his heartbeat. Blushing, she realized she'd never gotten this close to anyone other than Chazz.

"Lex?"

"Yes?"

"What do you mean to tell me by this? You wanted to sleep with me."

She bit her lip. "I don't mean--"

"Yes, you do, and you know it. What do you mean by it?"

She swallowed hard.

"Do you still like me? I know you told me otherwise, but…"

"Ok, Ok, it's true. I still like you. A lot. But who wouldn't? And I'm telling the truth! I really was scared!"

"Um, Ok. Well, Goodnight then."

"Um, goodnight."

They fell silent, and soon were resting peacefully in each others' arms.

-----------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, across the campus, Mr. Shroud stood outside Alexis' window, muttering to himself about Zane.

"Mr. Truesdale thinks he can dump me that easily. Well, he's wrong. If that's the way he wants to play…I'll show him. I'll show them all."

He squinted and saw what seemed to be someone in her room. There was eerie silence for several minutes as he watched. Then, he smirked.

"I guess I'm in luck after all."

The only sound that could be heard was the loading of a pistol. Several seconds later, gunshots ripped through the silence of the night.

"One down," he smirked, watching a figure fall, "and two to go."

* * *

**A/N: O.O Wow. I didn't see that coming. Well, hope you liked! XDDDD Cliffhanger!**

**Next time: Who did Mr. Shroud shoot? And what will Zane do now that he's rid of Mr. Shroud? Also, Chazz finds out about Alexis' night with Jaden. Will she be forced to tell him exactly why she did what she did?**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Yay! I get to update sooner than if I were in school! I'm so glad to have a break. Can't say the same for the poor, tortured characters of this story, though! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own GX.**

* * *

Chapter 12:

Alexis jumped up, heart pounding. Jaden sat up as well, eyes wide. The two looked at each other, shocked.

"Did you hear that?" Alexis asked, breathing hard from fear.

Jaden nodded, his mouth dry. Hearing several more gunshots, he slipped his arms around Alexis' waist and pulled her down, shielding her. They lay still, hearts thumping. Suddenly, all was quiet.

"J-Jaden…" Alexis whispered, "I don't think that was too close by…"

"But it wasn't far away either!"

She tucked her head under his chin, tears of fright stinging her eyes. "Jaden, hold me."

"I am."

"Please hold me tighter. I'm scared."

He only did as she asked. "It's Ok."

The two lay very still, listening to the silence. After a few moments, Jaden reached for his phone.

"What are you doing?" Alexis hissed.

"We have to find out what's going on!"

Right before he could dial a number, his phone rang. Alexis jumped and clung to Jaden, having not expected it.

"Hello?"

Alexis leaned her face close to Jaden's so she could hear. "Jaden? This is Mindy."

"Oh, hi, Mindy. What's up?"

"It's terrible!" Mindy sniffed, "You have to come down here right now!"

"Why me? Where?"

"You need to come because…well…just come to the Obelisk girls' dorm. I'll explain."

"Ok." He closed his phone and looked at Alexis. "I'm going to the girls' dorm. And I think you should come with me."

"Why?"

"Who knows what's going on. Besides, those gunshots…I don't think it's safe for you to be left alone."

She opened her mouth to protest, then just nodded. "Ok, Jay."

Jaden quickly pulled his shirt and sweatpants off without thinking. Alexis blushed as he dressed himself again. Then, he grabbed her hand and practically dragged her outside. He raced down the path towards the girls' dorm.

There was a crowd gathered around the dorm. Jaden and Alexis pushed through them to get inside. It was utter chaos. People were rushing about, trying to find their roommates and friends. Others were crying and hugging, glad to see each other alive. There was police tape around the dorm entrance. Near the door, Ms. Fountaine stood talking with some police officers. Her hair was a mess, her expression frightened and concerned.

"I'm so glad to see you, Jaden!" Mindy wailed, running up and throwing her arms around the slifer. Then, her eyes widened. "Alexis! You're Ok! We were so worried about you!"

Alexis looked down at Mindy in bewilderment as the girl hugged her, starting to cry. "It's Ok, Min, I'm fine."

Before Alexis could say anything more to comfort her friend, a voice called out, "There you are!"

Alexis gave a tiny cry of surprise as someone caught her up in a crushing hug. "You worried me sick!"

Looking up, she saw it was Chazz. "What's going on?"

"Didn't you know? You only live in the dorm. Hell, it was _your_ room!"

"What are you--"

"Oh…my…God…"

"What?"

She looked over at what Chazz was staring at, and drew in a sharp intake of air. Two medics were carrying Katiann's lifeless body out of the door on a stretcher. Her ice blue eyes stared ahead, unseeing. Crimson stained her blond hair, trickling down her cheek and neck. There, right above her temple, was a small hole, where splintered bone and fluid oozed out. Chazz covered Alexis' eyes.

It was too late. Gasping, she began to cry. It didn't matter that this girl had been her mortal enemy. It still was quite a shock. And she didn't wish for anyone to die.

"Oh, damn, Alexis," Chazz pulled her close to him, trembling. He pressed his lips to her head over and over again, shaking, a few tears spilling into her golden hair. "That could've been you! Thank God you're all right!"

Realizing how close she'd come to death, she began to cry harder. Sobs racked her body as she clung to Chazz's thin waist, wailing his name over and over.

"Chazz!" She screamed, trembling in distress, "Oh, Chazz! I shouldn't have been such an idiot! Oh, I could've died!"

He only pushed her head into his shoulder and said nothing. They stood still, clinging to one another and trembling.

Jaden stood completely stiff, looking at the ground. Mindy turned to him and threw her arms around him again. Mechanically, he hugged her back.

"Jaden, this is terrible." Mindy whimpered, "Who would do such a thing? Who? I mean, I know that she shouldn't have been sneaking around in Alexis' room, but…"

"It gets worse." Jasmine announced, coming up, "I heard just a moment ago that Katiann had been putting this in your room."

Everyone leaned forward, staring at the object in the bag. Alexis stepped closer to Chazz, mortified.

"A-a bomb…"

"A very badly homemade one, but still a bomb." Jasmine sighed, "I guess what goes around comes around, huh?"  
"But--but why would she want to kill me?"

Jasmine stared directly at her. "Word on the street is, you and Chazz are an item. And by the looks of it, it's true."

Chazz and Alexis blushed, still holding one another.

Jasmine continued. "And, of course, we all know she adores Chazz to the ends of the earth. So she decided to get rid of you, I guess."

"But…who killed her?"

Jasmine shrugged. "We don't know. But whoever did could've been after you. It might've been a coincidence. Katiann was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But, like I said before, what goes around, comes around."

Alexis pressed her trembling body against Chazz as his arms tightened around her. "That's…terrible! I never imagined I'd have such enemies!"

At that moment, the Chancellor arrived. He took a moment to survey the scene and speak with the police before walking briskly over to Chazz and Alexis.

"Excuse me, Mr. Princeton? Miss Rhodes? If I could have a moment of your time…"

Chazz and Alexis exchanged a worried glance, but released each other and followed the Chancellor into his office.

"Have a seat." The Chancellor gestured towards two chairs.

They settled in the chairs rather uncomfortably.

"It has come to my attention that you might know something about today's incident." Chancellor Shepherd began, leafing through some papers and frowning.

"Why would we know anything?" Chazz asked.

Chancellor Shepherd frowned deeper. "Because," he sighed, "you were the last one to talk to her, Chazz. And Alexis was the person she was trying to harm, obviously. So, what exactly did she say to you on your last interaction?"

Chazz swallowed hard as the Chancellor clasped his hands and leaned on his polished cherry desktop. "Well, it's not good. I mean, she was angry at Alexis, and seeking revenge I guess. Because she was jealous and tried to blackmail me into dating her…"

The Chancellor raised an eyebrow. "What sort of blackmail?"

"Well, sir, um…it was pictures of me at a party." He bit his lip nervously.

Chancellor Shepherd sighed heavily. "Oh, Chazz, why you?" He shifted in his seat, then, "Very well. As long as it wasn't on Duel Academy's campus."

Chazz just nodded.

"We might need these pictures as part of the investigation."

"I…destroyed them. In front of Katiann." He said weakly, "So I wouldn't have to go out with her."  
"Do you think perhaps she was upset about that too?"

"Well, duh…I mean, yes sir!" Chazz swallowed hard.

Alexis took his hand, squeezing it. She hated for him to be under such pressure. She tried to reassure him that she was there for him.

The Chancellor sighed. "And Alexis, do you have any idea why Katiann was so upset with you?"

Alexis looked at Chazz. He nodded and squeezed her hand. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Chazz is my…boyfriend. She was furious and jealous of me, so I guess she thought if she did away with me…" She cringed, knowing that she and Chazz weren't really in that sort of relationship. However, she couldn't very well say they were lovers.

The Chancellor nodded slowly and understandingly. "I see. Anything else I should know?"

Alexis shook her head.

"Very well then. Thank you for your time. You may go now."  
They both muttered their thanks and walked out, still holding hands.

Alexis suddenly moaned. "Oh, no!"

"What?" Chazz looked concerned.

"What if word gets around that you're my boyfriend? I mean, Zane really is, and he'd be pissed if--"

"Shhhh." Chazz touched his lips briefly to hers. "It's Ok. The Chancellor won't spread gossip. He doesn't care about that sort of thing. Relax."

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Ok."

"By the way, Alexis, I meant to ask you; how come you didn't get hurt?"

She blushed. "I wasn't in my room."

"Where were you?"

Looking into those charcoal gray eyes, she found she couldn't bring herself to tell him the truth and hurt him. So she lied. "I was with Mindy."

He seemed satisfied with this response. "I'm just glad you didn't get hurt." He cradled her in his arms, leaning his face closer to hers. "I would've been devastated had anything happened to you. I would've had to kill myself."

She blushed, feeling guilty already. "Yeah…" She laughed nervously.

"Well, come on, Lexi." He stepped back, taking her by the hand.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm afraid for your safety. So why don't you stay with me tonight?"

She swallowed hard. "I don't know…"

"Why not?"

"I just…don't want…to trouble you."

"It's no problem."

Seeing she wasn't going to get out of it, she sighed and relented. "All right. But Chazz, I don't want to sleep with you. I don't feel well."

He frowned a bit, seeing how this comment made little sense. However, he complied. "Ok."  
Still feeling guilty, she followed him back to his dorm. Afar off, Mr. Shroud watched in dismay, the moonlight glinting off his glasses.

"I can't believe it." He grumbled, feeling bitter heartache, "I killed my own daughter. My very own daughter! How could I have been so foolish?"

Sighing heavily, he pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to hold back tears. "I just wanted to make you proud! I wanted you to look up to me…I wanted you to be happy."

Slumping his shoulders, he retreated into the darkness.

-------------------------------------------------------

The following morning, Alexis awoke on the couch. Sitting up, she stretched, and sighed, feeling nauseated. She knew why. When she glanced over at Chazz, who was still asleep, her stomach churned more. She pushed the feeling down and stood to her feet.

Before Chazz could wake up, she slipped out. She didn't want to face him. She knew he'd find out about her and Jaden sooner or later. And when he did, it wouldn't be pretty. Unfortunately for her, she did not know how soon it would be.

She agonized the entire day, jumping every time someone called her name. Each time, she thought it would be Chazz, coming to yell at her. Wringing her hands in anxiety, she wondered if she should just tell him and get it over with. However, she didn't have the nerve, neither did she have the opportunity.

Around mid-afternoon, she was walking up the path towards the woods, feeling sicker and sicker with each step. She didn't know why, but she felt as though she couldn't make proper decisions. She felt as though she were detached from reality. Anxiety overwhelmed her.

Just when she thought she'd explode, Chazz called her name. She froze and turned slowly, only to see the expression she'd been dreading all day.

"Alexis," He growled, scowling, "I can't believe you."

"What do you mean?" she faltered, "I-I didn't do anything!"

"Jaden told me what you did last night. What made you go to him instead of me?"

Alexis bit her lip. "Baby, I--"

"Don't you 'baby' me! What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you go sleep with some other guy? And my rival at that?"

Alexis rushed over to him and threw her arms around his waist, clinging to him for dear life. She felt all the more anxious and upset. "Chazz…" Her voice trembled, "I wanted to tell you, but I d-didn't know how. P-please forgive me! It was a mistake; I didn't mean anything by it!"

"'Oh, Chazz, you have nothing to worry about,'" he mimicked, "Oh, yes, I do! You promised me I didn't have to worry about him! You promised me you'd be there for me forever! You said you wouldn't do anything like that with another guy."

"Chazz, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. It was only for comfort, nothing more. I promise you--"

"I don't want to hear it. I'm sick of being used. I love you, but I'm not gonna let you step all over me like this! And you won't stop. You've been pushing it and pushing it and I'm done!"

"No, Chazz, please, don't!" She begged, clawing at his jacket, "What about your promise? You said you'd be there for me! You said you'd never abandon me! Chazz, I need you!"

"I said, I don't want to hear it! I'm not gonna bother with you, anymore. There's a word for girls like you, a word that's on the tip of my tongue. But you know what? The Chazz does NOT talk about ladies like that, although I'd hardly describe you as such. So, for now, I just bid you adieu. Have a nice life without me."

"No, Chazz, please don't!" She begged desperately.

He tore away from her and started to walk off. Feeling all the more desperate, she did the only thing she could think of doing: she tackled him. Both hit the ground hard. She lay on his back, clinging to him and clutching his jacket.

"Please don't walk away," she implored, her body shaking violently, "Please don't do this. I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry. Please just give me another chance! Please! I won't disappoint you. You can't walk away after all we've been through! After all we've given to each other!"

He refused to respond, only looked down at the ground. Anger rose up inside her.

"How can you treat me like this?" She gasped, a scowl coming to her face, "How dare you?! You think that you're being all noble by this act. You think if you love me you should do what's right and let go? Well, that's NOT true. If you walk away and abandon me, then you don't love me. That's an expression of HATE. You hate me!"

He sighed heavily. "Alexis…get off."

"No! Not on your life! I won't let you go so easily. I can't let you walk away!"

Hearing the bitter distress in her voice, he looked up at her face. He saw she was truly sorry, however, despite the guilt rising inside of him, he chose to ignore it. With ease, he brushed her off.

"Good bye, Alexis." He turned his back on her and walked away, leaving her on the ground.

"NOOOOOO!!!!" She screamed in anguish, crumpling to the ground.

He didn't even turn to look back at her. However, tears stung his eyes. Perhaps if he hadn't felt so hopeless, he wouldn't have had to do what he did. Nevertheless, he couldn't think of any better way to teach her a lesson. No, he would never abandon her. But she would have to learn that she had to stick with him and only him. Otherwise, she'd end up on her own.

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Alexis wandered through the trees, hugging herself for warmth. For the past five hours, she'd been walking through the forest in distress, and now she was lost. However, she didn't care. Nothing mattered to her anymore. She just wanted to die.

She didn't even pay any attention to the rain that was beating on her head, or the thunder that rolled ominously in the distance. It didn't matter if she got struck by lightning. In fact, she rather welcomed the concept.

Looking around, she panicked, realizing she didn't know where she was. Her head spun in confusion. If she had not cared a second before, why did she feel so frightened now?

"What's…wrong…with me?!" She shouted, crumpling to her knees again. She hugged herself, rocking back and forth, trembling and sobbing. "Nothing makes sense anymore…I don't understand…where am I? What's going on?"

Hearing the thunder again, she shrank back. "This is all my fault. It's all my fault. Now, I'm gonna die because it's all my fault. Oh, God, I don't want to die!!!!"

She held her head in her hands and screamed at the sky, "Do you hear that? I said I don't want to die! Why are You doing this to me? What's going on? Somebody…anybody…"

Feeling hot and sick, she curled up in a ball and shivered harder. "I-I'm delusional," she muttered, "I must be going crazy…I…must…"

Trying her best to grasp on to her comprehension and her common sense, she struggled to her feet. "Ch-Chazz…" She whimpered, then shook her head, "No, I-I can take care of myself…I can do it…I'm fine…no…Chazz…I need you…where are you? NO! I don't need him…I'm fine…I'm just…fi…ne…"

She dropped to her knees once more, then dug her nails into the ground. "Oh, dear, Lord, let me die now…I can't stand it…I'm gonna die anyway, just take it away, take it ALL away…"

She breathed deeply, then, clawing at a tree, got to her feet and began to wander around the woods again. Feeling like a zombie, she silently walked a distance, then collapsed under a tree. She felt around in her pocket until she found the knife she'd stored away before she'd come out to the forest. Her fingers lingered on it a moment before she pulled it out and stared at it.

"If the one I care for so much doesn't want me," she murmured, "then there's no reason for me to live anymore."

Hurting even worse inside, she began to cut. She pressed the blade deep within her flesh until crimson streaks rewarded her and crystal tears of sorrow spilled out of her eyes.

"You liar," she seethed, "You told me that no matter what, you'd always be there for me. You dirty, rotten liar. You little pig. I never thought you'd do this. How unlike you!"

She slipped the blade closer to her wrist. Squeezing her eyes shut, she lifted the knife.

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Chazz lay awake, staring at the ceiling. He tossed and turned and stared up some more. He couldn't shake the terrible, sick feeling he had. The more he thought about what he'd done to Alexis, the more sour and nauseous his stomach felt. Finally, he jumped to his feet and pulled his clothes on. So what, she could be a bit fickle? So what, she'd acted out a bit? That didn't mean she'd meant it in a wrong way. She'd only been scared and confused. He couldn't just abandon her! After all, he'd promised he would never. Guilt and shame overwhelmed him as he realized he'd gone overboard. Even if he was just teaching her a lesson and didn't really mean it, it was still a very bitter pill for her to swallow. And, knowing her and what she'd gone through, there was no way she would be able to make it through the night. It would be entirely his fault if she died. Biting back his disgust, he plunged into the cold, dreary night.

"I was such an idiot," he muttered as he rushed to the girls' dorm, "How could I have acted like that? What was I thinking? I'd never treat her like that…so why did I?"

He sighed heavily as he slipped unnoticed into the dorm. Still thinking it over, he figured that it could've possibly resulted from stress. After all, one of their classmates had just been murdered and he had seen her dead body. Perhaps it was, ironically, the very thought of Alexis being murdered that had caused him to hurt her. He quickly shook his head of this ridiculous thought and knocked on Mindy's door.

"Hello?" Mindy sleepily asked. She stared at Chazz through half closed eyes for a moment before it registered that it was him.

"Chazz? What are you doing here? Quick, get in here before someone sees you!" She grabbed his wrist and jerked him inside, then shut the door.

"I know I shouldn't be here," Chazz muttered, scowling, "but I don't care. I don't always follow these stupid rules, you know."  
Mindy nodded. "So, what are you here for?"

"I wanted to ask you if you'd seen Alexis or knew where she was staying."

Mindy sighed. "She was supposed to stay with me, but she never came. I don't know where she is."

Chazz clenched his teeth. "So you're telling me she's gone?!"

Mindy shrugged. "She could be with someone else."

"She wouldn't do that without telling you." Chazz told her, still scowling. "Don't you care?!"

"I do, but I know Alexis, and I think she'd fine." Mindy waved it off.

"Fine? FINE?! I don't think so! In case you didn't get the memo, I know Alexis just as well as you if not better. I suppose it could be better, seeing how you don't know she's probably in trouble!"

Mindy sent him a sideways glare. "Oh, really? How do you suddenly know so much about her?"

"Look, I don't have time for this. I have to look for Alexis, so I'll see you later." His tone held an icy quality as he headed for the door, "Way to look out for her."

"Hypocrite!" She seethed.

He stopped. "What do you mean by that?"  
Mindy scowled deeper. "I know that you hurt her earlier. I don't know what you did. All I know is that she came back to the dorm crying. When I asked her what was wrong, all she did was say your name. Then she took something out of a drawer and left!"

"So now you're saying this is my fault?" Chazz asked, whirling around. Deep inside, he felt all the more guilty. After all, it was his fault and he knew it. However, at the moment, he was too angry to admit it.

"Well, apparently. But you don't have time to mess with me if you're going on your heroic mission, now do you?"  
Chazz said nothing, only opened the door and stepped out.

"Good bye, Chazz." Mindy said coldly as he shut the door.

"Where could she be?" He wondered aloud, "If she wasn't with…_her_, then I don't know where she went."

Once more, he stepped out into the night. As he made his way down the path, he stopped at all of her friends' rooms, asking about her. No one had seen her. And, remembering her suicide attempt days earlier, he began to worry. Immediately, he started to search the island.

As he stepped into the dark woods, the storm grew increasingly worse. Gusts of wind blew frigid rain in his face as lightning illuminated the trees, casting ghastly shadows. The thunder became so loud, he wondered if he'd go deaf. Despite all this, he kept looking.

"Alexis!!!" He yelled above the storm, "Where are you?!"

He listened intently but could hear nothing except the roar of the ocean.

"ALEXIS!!!!!" He screamed her name over and over until he was hoarse.

Feeling more desperate, he began to run. He searched around every tree as quickly as he could, in case she was hurt and hiding. It was then that the storm produced an extra brilliant streak of lightning.

Had it not been for the flash that set the forest aglow, almost as bright as daytime, he would never have seen her. She was slumped against a tree, her chin almost to her chest. A sick feeling hit his stomach, making him want to throw up. Pushing it down, he rushed over to her.

"Alexis!" He thrust his arms around her cold, wet body, hoping she wasn't dead.

After a minute of holding her tightly, she lifted her head and gazed up into his face. Neither said a word, just stared into one another's eyes. Then, slowly, she wrapped her arms around his neck, almost in a childlike manner. He lifted her off the ground, cradling her in his arms. When he did, a long, slender object hit the ground. He picked it up and gasped.

"Alexis, you weren't going to…were you?"

She just looked at him sadly.

"Oh, Lex, I'm so sorry!" He kissed her numb cheek. "I'm so, so sorry! I never meant it; I was just angry! And…I wanted to teach you a lesson. I was wrong. I was out of line. Please forgive me and realize I'd never do that in my right mind!"

Alexis only nuzzled the crook of his neck in response.

Realizing that she was sick, he set her on her feet while supporting her with one arm and slipped his jacket around her shoulders. Then, he scooped her up again and carried her back towards the Obelisk boys' dorm. "You're gonna be just fine."

She leaned her head tiredly against his shoulder and grew limp in his arms. Seeing this worried him. He hurried back to his room.

Once they'd shut the storm out behind them, he surveyed the damage. Her arms were covered in red marks, dried blood streaking down them. There were dark circles under her red eyes, and she was pale. She was too weak to stand or sit by herself. With horrified realization, he saw that it was partially his fault she was in this condition. It was almost as if he had personally done this to her. His heart melted.

"She's gone crazy," he thought, stroking her wet hair.

Swallowing hard, he carried her into the bathroom and stripped her of her cold, soaking clothes and placed her in the bathtub. After filling it, he too stripped and stepped in. Feeling as though it were his duty to care for her, he began to wash her. She did nothing in protest.

He finished bathing her then washed himself. She only slumped against the side of the tub and stared into space.

"Alexis? Are you Ok? You're worrying me sick…"

She didn't respond.

"Alexis?" He reached out and slipped his arms around her bare waist.

She tiredly lifted her head and let it drop on his shoulder. Weakly, she let her hand fall on his chest. Then, she barely touched her lips to his neck.

He sighed, a little relieved, yet at the same time, more concerned. At least he was getting a response out of her.

Hurriedly, he finished his bath and stepped out. He grabbed her hands and pulled her out as well, then wrapped her in a towel. Her knees buckled, causing her to fall against him. He held her up, drying her off, then pulled one of his T-shirts and a pair of his sweatpants over her thin frame.

He dressed as well then took her back into his bedroom and set her on the bed. Sitting behind her with a leg on either side of her, he began to dry her hair. He hated to see her so unresponsive and dependant. However, he could only blame himself and do his best to undo the damage he'd caused.

She sniffed as he tucked her in bed. "Chazzy…"

He jolted, having not expected her to talk. "Yes?"  
"Chazzy…"  
"I'm right here. I'm gonna fix you some tea, Ok?"

She just nodded and lay still under the sheets. Slowly, things became clearer and she began to come back to reality. She sat up a little as he brought her a cup of hot tea.

"Thanks."

"No problem." He slipped into bed beside her, "If you need anything, don't hesitate to wake me up, Ok?"

She nodded, finishing the tea quickly, then turned out the light. They lay still for a moment, just listening to the distant storm and each other's steady breathing. Finally, she cuddled up to his warm body.

"I thought I'd lost you." She whispered, embracing him tightly.

"And I thought I'd lost you!" He rolled over so he was facing her. "I'm still sorry."  
"I deserved it. And I'm sorry too. I think I learned my lesson. But you know what really scared me?"

"What?"  
"I was actually going insane without you…I don't know, maybe it was stress."  
"I think stress had a lot to do with the whole thing. I don't think we would've acted like that otherwise." He agreed.

"But, if it weren't for stress…I would've never gotten involved with you." She snuggled her head in the crook of his neck and lay close enough to feel his heartbeat.

"Then, I guess it can be a good thing sometimes." He told her, running his fingers through her golden hair and smiling.

She blushed as he touched his lips to her temple and murmured huskily in her ear, "I love you."

She didn't respond with words. All she did was place her hand behind his head and pull him down. Gently, she touched her lips to his. He nuzzled her lovingly and cradled her in his arms. Gradually, they drifted off to sleep, safe from the storm and the world.

* * *

**A/N: Ok, that sucked. And he got a little OOC I think, I don't know. But they're stressed, and that's what happens when you get upset. Her behavior was obviously caused by a combo platter of things. So, you can't really blame them. **

**  
Next time: Chazz wants Alexis to move in with him. What will Zane do when he hears about this? And will Mr. Shroud seek revenge in the wrong places? Also, Syrus displays mysterious symptoms. Does Zane have anything to do with it?**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Another badly revised chapter. --;;**

**Disclaimer: I do not own GX.**

* * *

Chapter 13:

Alexis awoke the next morning, feeling cold. Shivering, she rolled over to find Chazz gone. Sitting up, she looked about the room, feeling confused.

"Chazzy?"

He stuck his head out of the bathroom, toothbrush in mouth. "Hmmm?"

She sighed, relieved. "I thought you'd left…I'm cold."

He spit into the sink before answering. "Then get another blanket."

"No, I'm cold inside." She muttered.

"I can't do much for that."

She sighed heavily and yawned. "How long have you been up?"

"Not long." He replied, rinsing his mouth out then coming back into the room. "Listen, babe, we gotta talk about something."

"What?" She stiffened.

He sat on the edge of the bed. "Alexis, it's getting too dangerous. You're going crazy and you're getting hurt. I need to be able to keep an eye on you, so I want you to move in with me."

"What?!" She stared up at him, shocked. "Move in with you? I can't do that…"

"Come on, Lex, I need you to. You need someone to care for you, to make sure you don't get hurt."

"I'm not moving in with you," She said firmly, "I can care for myself, thank you very much. I don't need help."

"Well, you most certainly did last night." He pointed out, "It's the same thing with you. One moment, you're telling me that you're fine on your own. The next, you get hurt or stuck in a bad situation and you're crying for me to save you. Which is it gonna be? Do you want to be alone, or do you want help?"

"I…That's irrelevant. I can be independent and still be with you."

"No, that's not the point. Alexis, you've asked me several times if I would be there for you no matter what. And I promised I would. However, when I try to come through for you like you've asked, you turn me away. Yet it's obvious you need my help. And once you find that your predicament grows worse when you reject my help, you come running back to me, begging for me to help you. It can't go on like this. You either want my help or you don't. So what's it gonna be?"

"That's so cruel!" She remarked.

"Well, will you accept my help or not?"

She looked up into his eyes, which were full of genuine compassion. Biting her lip, she nodded. "Ok, I'll accept your help…when I need it. As long as you understand when to butt out. When I tell you it's none of your business, I want you to listen."  
"Unless it hurts you, Ok, you've got a deal. So, do you want to move in with me, or no? I insist on it."

Thinking about how close she'd come to death and how often Zane came to abuse her, she shuddered and decided it was for the best. "All right, Chazz, I'll move in with you. But only for protection, got it?"

"What, you don't want to be lovers anymore?"

"No, it's not that…I just…"  
"I understand." He patted her on the back.

"Um, Chazz? One last thing…"

"What?"  
"Can we not tell anyone about this? And can you help me move my stuff? I'm afraid to go to my room alone."

He smiled a little. "Don't worry. It's our little secret. And I'll help you. I would've anyway. After all, The Chazz doesn't let a lady--"

"Yeah, yeah, 'The Chazz' speech, I get it." She interjected. "Come on."

Grabbing him by the hand, she started for the door.

"Um, Lex?"  
"What?"  
"Do you want to change first?"

She blushed. "Right. Where are my clothes?"  
"Right here. I washed them for you."

"You know how to wash clothes?" She scoffed, taking them.

"Duh."

She pulled his shirt and sweatpants off, blushing as she threw them aside. "I slept in his clothes," She thought, as she pulled on her uniform.

Then, she looked back over at him to see he was blushing. "What?"

"You dressed in front of me."

"So? You've seen it all before."

"I can't get used to it."

She shook her head and grabbed his hand, leading him out into the hall. They snuck over to the girls' dorm, and went to Mindy's room. Alexis knocked on the door and waited.

"Alexis?" Mindy answered the door, a bit sleepy.

"I'm here for my stuff."

"Why?"

"Um, I'm getting a new room." She mentally cursed herself, having forgotten that she'd have to explain why she was taking her things out of Mindy's room. Now she was probably going to ask Alexis where her new room was.

"That's great! Oh, but I'll miss you." Mindy looked sad.

"Yeah, I'll miss you too…" Alexis grinned weakly. "Can I get my stuff?"

"Sure." Mindy turned around to help her, then stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Oh. What's he doing here?"

Alexis could've died. "He's just helping me move my stuff." She laughed nervously.

Mindy looked suspicious for a moment. Chazz only smiled cheesily at her.

"You know, he's strong and everything and…you know, he and I and…" Alexis stopped, realizing she was making little sense. "Anyway, can we get my stuff now?"

"Sure," Mindy chirped, seeming to have forgotten her suspicion. "Feel better, Lex? Did you and Chazz make up?"

"Yep." Alexis laughed nervously once more. "Everything's just peachy now."

Chazz elbowed her and muttered sarcastically through his teeth. "Be a more obvious liar, why don't you?"

"Shhh!" She hissed, "Be quiet before she hears you!"

Mindy gathered Alexis' things. "Take care, Alexis. And don't let yourself get hurt. And Chazz?"

"Yes?"

"Take good care of her. Please. She needs you." Mindy looked up at him with sad eyes as she whispered this to him where Alexis couldn't hear, "She goes crazy without you. To tell the truth, at this point, I think she loves you."

Chazz swallowed hard. "She never said she did. She always says she doesn't."

"She's in denial." Mindy told him, "You can tell she loves you to pieces. So be very careful with her, and no matter what, don't you dare break her heart! As tough as she may seem, she's actually quite fragile."

"I know." Chazz sighed. "I never meant to hurt her. It was a mistake…"

"I know. And I forgive you just as she does."

"Thanks, Mindy." He turned to Alexis, "You ready to go?"

She nodded and pushed some boxes his way, smirking. "You carry these because you're a man."

"Of course." He rolled his eyes, yet picked them up.

"Bye," Mindy called, then, smirking, "Be good, you two. Don't let sharing a room get you 'in trouble.'"

Chazz and Alexis blushed deeply as Mindy shut the door. Seeing that there was nothing they could do, they only went back to their room.

-------------------------------------------------

Alexis did her best to avoid Zane, especially in class. She did not want to have to explain herself to him. Not that she wanted him to find out about her living with Chazz, anyway. But she knew he would. However, she could delay it for awhile, at least, she hoped she could.

Not to mention Chazz would do his best to protect her. So, even if Zane did find out, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. Unless he told the others. Thinking this caused her to shudder slightly. She could only imagine what Atticus would say about it.

That is, if he ever showed himself again. For some reason--she had no clue as to why--he'd been absent lately. He hadn't shown up to classes nor had he been in his room. She'd been so caught up in everything else, she hadn't really noticed. But now, thinking about it, she grew a little worried. Normally, she wouldn't have bothered. However, his health was bad and Zane was vengeful. Any number of things could have occurred.

Just as she was averting her eyes from Zane for the fortieth time that day, she noticed Syrus beginning to cough. Raising an eyebrow, she wondered if he were sick. Before she could say anything, Syrus started to whimper.

"Are you all right, Sy?" Jaden asked, concerned.

Syrus began to cry, fear filling his stormy gray eyes. "Jay! It hurts, it hurts, oh, ow, it hurts!" He clutched Jaden's sleeves.

"What the--someone get Ms. Fountaine!" Jaden yelled, looking horrified.

"What's going on?"

"Oh, poor boy!"

"Someone get a doctor!"

Alexis peered over to see what all the commotion was about. She gasped. There was a steady stream of blood trickling from his nose, and it was coming fast. Jaden grabbed a few paper towels from Professor Banner's desk and used them to try to stop the bleeding. Professor Banner rushed over and began to ask Syrus questions about his health.

"Have you ever been in any sort of accident? Is there a condition in your family?"

"I don't know!" The poor little bluenette wailed. "Please make it stop!"

"All right, all right, settle down children." Professor Banner told everyone, "Stay calm; don't panic."  
Ms. Fountaine rushed in to take a look at Syrus. "Oh, you poor thing." She murmured as she removed Jaden's hand. "This is bad. Banner, we have to get him to a doctor."

"What could've caused this, Fonda?"

"I don't know. It could be a hemorrhage in his brain. It could be anything, really. But we need to get him medical attention, and quickly. He's losing too much blood."

Syrus opened his mouth. "I've--"

"Shhhh," Ms. Fountaine shushed him, "Don't try to talk."

"But this is important!"

"All right, I'm listening."

"I've actually been having nosebleeds for days now. But I thought it'd go away eventually, and it wasn't that bad…"

Ms. Fountaine squeezed her eyes shut. "Syrus…when did this start?"

"I don't know," He whimpered, "Maybe it's even been a month…"

"In that case, it could be anything, even a tumor. I sure hope it's not cancer. It could be inherited, though." She turned back to address Syrus, "Do your brother or your parents have these nosebleeds?"

"No." Syrus whimpered.

Ms. Fountaine looked deeply concerned. "Then it's best for you to get an MRI. Come on, I'm calling a helicopter to come pick you up for the hospital."

She led him out, followed by the Professor. Loud murmurs went around the classroom. Zane watched on indifferently, then turned away and walked out.

"Where's he going?" Chazz growled.

"I don't know…" Alexis muttered bitterly, "He didn't seem too concerned though."

"That's what bothers me." Chazz said, scowling, "Do you think that he has anything to do with this?"

"I don't doubt it." She replied, narrowing her eyes. "It seems most likely with the way he's acting and how he treats me."

"I wonder, though, what he's done to cause something this bad."

"That's something we might not know."

"But we'll find out." Chazz growled.

---------------------------------------------------------

Later that afternoon, Alexis stood at the dock, hoping Zane would come talk to her. Yes, it was very foolish of her but she had several questions for him. After all, he'd been behaving so violently lately; she had to wonder if he had anything to do with the Syrus' condition or Atticus' disappearance. Sighing as she thought about how kind he used to be, she clasped her hands together and waited.

Sure enough, not ten minutes had passed before he approached the dock, a scowl plastered on his face. He took his usual place beside her and muttered a terse greeting. She responded with a greeting as well. The two stared into their moonlit, liquid reflections for a long time, not daring to speak. Finally, she knew she must confront him on the matter.

"Zane, did you hurt Syrus?"

His eyes slid over in her direction, filled with bitter indifference. "That's of no matter to you." He growled in a low voice.

"Yes it is. I care about the guy. Please tell me what you did."

"Why should I?"

"So you're not even going to deny it?"

"I'm not a liar, Alexis."

"Yes you are!" She protested, "You may not have used words, but you're lying to the entire school by portraying yourself as being normal when you're not! What's happened to you?"

"I suggest you cease your senseless jabbering. You wouldn't want an accident to occur, now, would you?"

"N-no," She faltered.

"Well, then, you know what you must do."  
Silence reigned once more. Finally, Zane spoke again.

"Why did you move in with that cur?"

"What?"

"With Chazz? Why did you move in with him?"

"Wh-what makes you think I did?" She did her best to maintain her calm, strong composure; however, it grew increasingly difficult as his features furrowed more deeply.

"You whore…" he hissed, "You filthy little whore! How dare you move in with him when I'm your boyfriend? Why not move in with me if you must move in with someone? What's so great about him?"

"Look, Zane, don't take it that way. I never agreed for you to be my boyfriend. I will not move in with you. I shall do as I please! And I will never be yours." She spat, teeth clenching.

"You cocky little--"

"You'd better shut up! Don't you ever disrespect me like that again!"

Zane responded to her comment with a sharp smack across the face. She let out a little cry as she fell back. This time, he made no move to catch her, only watched on coldly as she plunged into the icy ocean. He shrugged and walked away, leaving her to shiver.

She started to swim back for the dock, but found her foot was caught in a chain underwater. Struggling to free herself, she only became more entangled. Worry clouded her mind. Desperately, she tried to kick her boot off; however, it did no good. She only ended up growing all the more trapped. Lifting her head, she gazed at Zane's retreating figure and realized she had no other option.

"Zane!" She called hoarsely, "Zane! Please come help me!"

Zane turned and threw a disdainful glare over his shoulder, yet kept silent.

"Zane, please!" She called, growing all the more desperate.

He only regarded her with more contempt.

"Zane, I'm stuck, help me!" She begged, panic washing over her. "Zane!" She reached out towards him.

His lips curved in a wicked smirk. "Have fun, kid." That being said, he took his leave, turning his back on her.

"Zane!!!!" She screamed, now more agitated and frightened than ever. Feeling the chain's weight start to pull her down as it seemed to grow heavier, she called for him, helpless, again and again.

Zane never looked back, never responded. He only kept walking until he disappeared into the shadows. Whether he really left or not, she did not know. He might have been watching in the bushes laughing or wondering what she'd do.

Alexis shivered and looked around, trying to find some way out of the situation. There was nothing close enough for her to grab; she was just going to have to wait and hope someone would find her.

"Alexis?"

She looked up quickly, and saw Chazz standing on the dock. Relieved, she told him, "How do you always manage to make it just in the knick of time?"

"I don't know." He replied.

"Could you lend me a hand?"

"Of course. The Chazz never leaves a lady hanging. The Chazz--"

"Please just help me!"

"Right." Chazz stretched out as far as he could and offered her his hand. Looking up at him with grateful eyes, she reached out and seized his hand. He tried to pull her out, but the chain prevented him from doing so.

"Hold on, Lex, I'm coming in for you."

He pulled his jacket and boots off and carefully eased himself into the water. Then, he slowly ducked under the surface and felt around for the chain. Finding it, he freed her foot with quite a bit of trouble. Carefully, he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her out of the water and up on the dock. He draped his jacket around her shivering shoulders.

"What happened?"  
"I fell in the water." She muttered, looking down.

"Did a certain Zane Truesdale have anything to--"

"Yes. Now can we forget about him and just go back?"

"Yeah," Chazz relented, frowning, then muttered under his breath, "Jerk."  
She sighed. "That's Zane for you. At least, now anyway."

"Want to go back now?"  
"Yes."

"Ok." He placed an arm around her shoulders as he helped her walk towards the Obelisk boys' dorm.

As they were walking, they heard the bushes rustle. Alexis froze, clinging to Chazz's arm.

"What was that?"  
"It's probably nothing." He tried to assure her.

They continued walking down the path. Again, the bushes rustled. Alexis took a deep breath and tried to tell herself that it was just an animal, nothing more. However, she had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Right before they came to the entrance of the dorm, a hand reached out and snatched Alexis away from Chazz. Before she could scream or fight, another hand clamped over her mouth. At the same time, an object went sailing through the air silently, yet where it landed, she did not know.

"Where do you think you're going, Alexis?" A wicked voice queried.

Her blood ran like ice as she felt the cold metal of a pistol pressed firmly to her temple. So he had been in the bushes watching after all. "Zane…" She whispered hoarsely from behind his hand. "Wha--"

"Shut up," Zane hissed, "I only came back because I saw you with him! I don't want you running off with that bastard again. And I won't let him find you. You're my hostage now. And I intend to keep you in my room tonight. Now, come on, let's go the back way where he can't find you."

"But I--"

"I said, shut up!" She received a sharp blow across the head. He clamped his hand firmly over her mouth once more, in order to muffle her cry of pain. "Shhh…do you want him to hear us?"

Not even waiting for a response, he dragged her through a brief stretch of woods until they came around to the back door of the dorm. Still holding her mouth shut, he gently nudged the door open and stepped inside. She struggled the entire way to his room. Feeling her resistance, he growled and banged her head against the wall, causing her to feel dizzy.  
"Stop…" She gasped, "That hurts…"

"Not unless you yield to me!"

"No, I can't!"

He smashed her head repeatedly against the wall. Since they were in the basement and he didn't make much noise, no one heard them. She was trapped.

"Stop!" She commanded, still fighting even as she felt herself slipping into blackness.

"Not until you give him up." Zane snarled.

"I can't! I won't!" She snapped, glaring at him, her amber eyes flashing with rebellion.

Scowling deeper, he slammed her head harder against the wall. Electric pain shot through her, then everything went black.

Zane smirked, carrying her to his room. "Alexis, you're mine, now. You will have to love me like I love you." He shut the door and locked it, ready to take what was rightfully his.

* * *

**A/N: O.o What will Zane do to her? Uh-oh…**

**Next time: Alexis wakes up in an uncomfortable situation. Zane pressures her. And why didn't Chazz do anything? If she escapes, will this and her anger and hurt make her take it out on Chazz? Also, Mr. Shroud is ready to begin his manhunt.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. I had this on hiatus, but I couldn't stand it any longer. I had to write it before I lost my train of thought. I've just been so busy with school, my other fics, and helping other people with their stories that I haven't had the time. I won't have this on hiatus anymore; however, it might take a couple of weeks between updates. But, once I finish some of those fics I have over my head, I plan to work on this more often. I hope it was worth the wait.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own GX.**

* * *

Chapter 14:

The world was muddled in Alexis' mind when she began to come to. Groaning in pain, she tried to sit up, only to find that she couldn't. She was too tired. Giving in to her exhaustion and aching body, she lay back against the down pillows and started to drift off to sleep again. At that moment, she became aware of another presence for the first time; the bed springs creaked from somewhere next to her.

"Chazz," She muttered, her eyes still shut tightly.

She pulled the blankets up higher and snuggled in the sheets. She would've gone to sleep; however, something didn't feel quite right. After a moment, she felt an odd chill going down her body. Shivering, she pulled the sheets tighter around her thin body. That was when she realized it: she was naked.

Immediately, everything came back to her. She shot up, breathing hard. Her sudden movement awoke the peacefully sleeping boy next to her. He, as well, sat up. Slowly, she turned her head, daring to look. She found herself almost nose to nose with Zane. His teal eyes were as frosty as ever.

Gradually, the shock set in. Her hand flew involuntarily to her mouth as she began to gasp, then hyperventilate. For a moment, she let her eyes go over his figure, trying to understand the situation. It finally registered in her frozen brain that he, too, was naked. Tears came to her eyes as she began to realize what had happened.

"Zane, you bastard!" She gasped, her shoulders shaking, "What have you done to me?!"

Zane's expression remained hardened, indifferent. "I did nothing to you."

"Like I'll believe that!" She snapped, her shock turning into anger, "How could you? You know that I--"

"I don't care," He told her through clenched teeth, his eyes regarding her with bitterness. "You were the one cheating on me. You had it coming. If I have to force you to be with me, I will. But I can assure you that I did nothing to you."

"Listen, you!" She seethed, jabbing a finger at him, "I had sex with Chazz before you and I got together. More or less, it's me cheating on him! Especially after THIS fiasco. And I don't believe you for a second. What do you mean you did nothing? Ha! That's a lie if I ever heard one."

"Alexis, it doesn't matter. You and Chazz are not girlfriend and boyfriend. But you and I are. You have no right to go deliberately behind my back and--"

"And YOU had no right to barge into my life and FORCE me to be your girlfriend!" She yelled, "Neither, may I remind you, did I give you the right to take me to bed!"

Zane opened his mouth to protest. In response, Alexis lifted her hand and gave him a good smack across the face. He fell back against the pillows, his cheek bright red.

"And that's what you get! NO ONE and I mean NO ONE can have my body but Chazz! Do you understand me? I am NOT a slut. I am NOT going to put out for just anyone. So why don't you just LEAVE ME ALONE! And whatever happened last night, will NEVER happen again. And if you do it again, I'll sic Chazz on you. Got that?"

He sat up, rubbing his cheek. In his eyes, she saw no remorse. Rather, she saw rage. Fear began to creep over her at the familiar icy, murderous look.

"Don't make me hurt you," He seethed.

"You already have!" She screamed, raising a trembling hand to smack him again.

However, this time, he was ready. Before she had time to think, he'd caught her hand in mid-air. He twisted it, overpowering her.

"No," She gasped, squeezing one of her eyes shut in pain, "Don't you dare…"

He glared at her as he pushed her down. Seeing his determination, she began to panic and thrash. This annoyed him. He banged her head against the night stand, hoping to cease her violent movements.

"Be still!"

"Do you honestly believe I'm going to sit here and LET you rape me? No way! Zane Truesdale, you're sadly mistaken. Maybe some other woman. But not me!"

She struggled with him for several more minutes. Finally, becoming fed up, she aimed a careful kick at his shin. Flinching, he loosened his grip enough on her wrist for her to poke him in the eye. He screamed and let go, holding his face in his hands. She didn't care that she was naked. If she could only get out of there!

She ran out into the hall and rushed to Chazz's room. Hurriedly, she let herself in and locked the door, heart pounding. Then, she sank to the floor and cried. How could such a horrible thing have happened to her? What had she done to deserve it?

Weeping louder, she hugged her knees to her chest and shivered, wondering if Chazz would ever want her again. What was she supposed to do now? Zane had violated her in the wickedest way imaginable. How was she to ever get over it?

Exhausted and scared, she began to seethe. Not just at Zane for his crime against her, but also at Chazz. He hadn't saved her. He hadn't done anything. She wondered if she could've truly hated him more than she did then.

At that moment, Chazz opened the door. He looked down at her tiredly, then scooped her into his arms, ignoring the fact that she was undressed.

"What happened to you?" He asked, squeezing her, "I was pretty worried--" "CHAZZ!" She screamed, smacking him with all the force she had pent up within her, "This is ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Feeling anger consuming her, she forgot all about logic. She didn't stop to think about what she doing. All she could do was give in to the hurt, and release her frustration and fear of being abused. Before she carried on, however, she pulled on a T-shirt and some sweatpants, and tried to calm herself down.

"Alexis, what was that for?" Chazz asked bitterly, rubbing the red mark on his cheek.

Hearing the resentment in his voice, she once more panicked. Then, she felt angry again. "Chazz Princeton," She seethed, shaking, "How dare you. How DARE you ask me about that when you know too well what you did."

"But I--"

"Shut up! I don't want to hear it. You're always making excuses. You're always hurting people. Well, I'm fed up with it!"

Feeling another wave of anger and distrust overcome her, she seized him by the shoulders and shook him, screaming at him. At first, he could do nothing due to his shock. He only let her shake him violently. That was when she lost all control. She took out her punishment for Zane on him.

"I hate you!" She screamed, "I hate you, I hate you, I HATE YOU! Do you ever think of ANYONE other than yourself? Do you even CARE? I HATE YOU!"

She behaved as she'd never before. Soon, she was punching him and kicking him, screaming with all the fury of an angry woman. She dug her nails into his arm, causing him to wince badly from the pain. Seeing the obvious horror in his eyes was a welcome reward. However, it did not last long. Soon, his temper kicked in.

"Alexis, STOP IT!" He screamed, throwing her off of him. She fell to the floor, still shaking. "Just stop it, Ok! What have I done to you? Just get a hold of yourself, Ok? What have I ever fucking done to deserve this? I'm beginning to regret taking you in! You treat me like shit! Why the hell do you want to abuse me, huh? What, are you looking for someone to control? Well, that's not me. If you want to keep this little game up, well, be my guest. There's the door, use it!"

She stared up at his livid face, trembling again. This time, however, it was not of anger, but fright. Slowly, she picked herself up and stepped over to him, hanging her head.

"I'm sorry, Chazz," She told him, embarrassed, "I don't know what I was thinking…I wasn't. I have a good reason. I really do. I was scared. Besides, when I needed you the most last night, what happened to you? Where'd you go?"

She looked up at him with teary, amber eyes. Beginning to cry, she caught him around the waist in a tight hug, her head tucked under his chin. Slowly, she felt his arms embrace her as well. He released a heavy sigh.

They stood still for a moment, just holding on to each other. Finally, sniffing, she asked again, "Why didn't you help me?"

In response, he lifted his sleeve to reveal a gauze bandage. It was the same arm she had dug her nails into so viciously only moments before. Cautiously, she reached out a hand and touched his arm.

"What happened?"

"I got shot," He growled, "I was lucky that his aim was off. However, he could've killed me if he hadn't been in such a hurry or wrestling you. I would've done something…but I passed out. I don't know why, I've just been so weak lately."

Remorse and guilt overwhelmed her. "I'm sorry, I thought…"

"No, don't be," He snapped, "I'd have been mad too."

Seeing his weary, bitter expression, she backed off. "Ok, Chazz, I get it now. But why didn't we hear the gunshot? When did this happen?"

"As soon as he snatched you, he shot me," Chazz grumbled, "As for the noise…I have a feeling that he used a silencer."

"Oh," Alexis bit her lip, "So that's why we didn't hear it?"

"I guess so. But it hurt like hell…and I haven't been feeling well anyway. And now that I think about it, I really haven't felt completely myself since that poisoning incident."

"But that was so long ago!"

"Yeah, I know. That's what worries me. But forget about that right now. What the hell happened to you?"

Her eyes dropped to the floor. Once more, she snuggled against his chest, her cheek pressed to his collarbone. "He, he…Oh, it's just so horrible!"

He tightened his grip around her waist. "Tell me what happened," he demanded.

"Chazz, I'm so sorry." She bit her lip, tears streaming steadily down her face again, "I feel like such a slut…"

"You don't mean…"

"He…he raped me…at least, I'm pretty sure of it." Alexis hiccupped, "B-because when I w-woke up, we were n-naked and…I don't know." She buried her face in his neck, sniffing and crying, "I couldn't stop him. He knocked me out. I tried to stop him, I really did. But once I was unconscious, who knows what happened. It just hurts so much…because, because I didn't think he could ever go this low. And, and, you…I'm so sorry. I'm so, SO sorry. I tried, I tried--"

"It's Ok," he insisted, "Calm down; it's not your fault. You don't have to worry about me. We have to worry about you. Are you Ok? Did he hurt you in any way other than the fact that he raped you?"

She sniffed again and shook her head. "I'm not in any pain. Well, except for a headache and a stomachache. But nothing like _that_ if that's what you mean. He didn't give me rough sex; at least, I don't think so. But it doesn't feel like it."

"Maybe we should get you to a doctor." He said, concerned.

"No!" She protested, "Then I'll be asked all sorts of embarrassing questions and people will find out about what a bad girl I am and--"

"That doesn't matter," he said sternly, clenching his teeth, "What matters is that you're Ok. And you're not a bad girl."

"I'm not going to a doctor!" She protested.

"What if you get pregnant?"

"I take birth control!"

"There's always a chance that it won't work!"

"Well, I can just get a pregnancy test now and check--"

Chazz seized her arm. "Alexis, you do know that you can't possibly know the morning after, right?"

She froze. "Wh-wh-what?"

"You DIDN'T know that?" He stared at her. "What about health class?"

"I was too embarrassed," She admitted, blushing, "And I never thought that I'd have to know. So…I tuned her out…"

"You mean to tell me…you only checked yourself the morning after we had sex BEFORE you started using birth control?"

"Um…."

"I really hope you're not pregnant with my child…but that's better than with Zane's!"

"What do I do?" She wailed, panicking.

He grabbed her shoulders. "Listen, you should be Ok. You haven't had any symptoms so far, right?"

She nodded, her eyes wide.

"And you've been taking the pill, right?"

She nodded again.

"And you haven't missed one?"

"No, I always take it." She told him.

"Then you should be just fine."

"How come you know all this stuff and I don't?"

He blushed. "Um, let's not talk about that."

"You are SUCH a perv."

He shot her a look of death. "Alexis…never mind. I still say we should go to a doctor."

"No," She insisted, "I'm fine."

"Should I look at you myself?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Her face turned red. "No! I'm Ok, honest! I'm not in pain…anymore. I mean, I never did hurt…um…_there_, but…you know." Then, crossing her arms over her chest, "How would you know how to fix it anyway, hmmm?"

He scowled. "I don't. I'm just saying that maybe I could tell if you REALLY needed a doctor."

"Just…leave me alone." She sighed, looking tired. "I have a migraine now. And my stomach hurts so badly. I just want to go to bed. Please don't bother me."

The scowl dropped off his face. He followed her over to the bed. "Is there anything I can get you?" He asked as she sank beneath the sheets.

"An aspirin," She muttered, pulling the covers over her head, "And some ginger ale would be nice, too."

"Ok." He brought her the bottle of aspirin and a soda from his mini-fridge. "Anything else?"

"No. Just…don't let that fool near me again."

Chazz set his mouth in a tight line, his charcoal eyes burning with hatred. After a moment, he crossed the room and began to dig through his closet. Curiosity got the better of her. Lifting the covers, she watched him. Her golden eyes widened as she watched him take out a handgun and load it.

"Chazz…I didn't know…"

Chazz grimaced. "I got it from my parents as soon as they heard that someone was out to kill me. They insisted that I have it. And now, I'm glad I do."

"But, won't the staff find out and…"

He put a finger to his lips. "Alexis, you don't know how corrupt this school is. In this world, a little money," he paused momentarily as he locked the trigger, "goes a long way."

Alexis stared at him in wonder. "I suppose so." She watched as he set the gun on the night stand, then crawled into bed with her.

"I'm not leaving you alone. And I promise you, if that bastard touches one hair on your head again, I'll kill him."

She shivered, hearing the hate in his voice and knowing he meant every word. In his eyes, he held the same murderous lust that Zane did. However, this time, she was not afraid. He was on her side.

-----------------------------------------------------

Professor Banner stepped into Ms. Fountaine's office, his face creased in worry. The previous day's events had been a little extreme. First, it had been Syrus. Then, it had been Chazz. Who knew which student would fall victim next.

"Fonda, may I have a word with you?"

"Of course." She turned around in her swivel chair to face him, "What's wrong?"

"I'm beginning to worry about the safety of our students. Obviously, our staff has not been doing its job. And how could any of our students behave so wickedly? How can someone just do this without a thought to their career?"

Ms. Fountaine bit her lip and sighed. "I know. It's terrible. But there's not much we can do."

"That bullet found in Chazz's arm…"

"Well, we analyzed it," Ms. Fountaine sighed, "It's from a semi-automatic pistol. We, of course, can't tell what kind. That's all we've gathered from what Chazz told us about it. Only one shot was fired, though, which doesn't make much sense. And apparently, whoever shot had a silencer. However, what doesn't make sense is why someone would go to all that trouble just to give him a minor injury."

Professor Banner's forehead creased again. "Oh, I can't imagine…this is so horrible!"

"Of course, Chazz did have some enemies…and as for Syrus, it could be some Obelisks playing a mean trick on him."

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't hear?"

"No."  
Ms. Fountaine sighed. "Oh, dear, I'm sorry. You see, the lab reports came in this morning."

"And?"  
"It wasn't a tumor."

"Thank heavens!" Professor Banner sighed in relief.

"No, it was far worse."

"Oh, no; what was it?"

She slapped a folder down on her desk, staring right at the Professor, her eyes boring into him. "Arsenic."

--------------------------------------------------

Mr. Shroud stood outside the Obelisk Boys' dorm, concealed by the shadows. In his left hand, he carried a pair of military binoculars. In his other hand, he carried a gun.

"Oh, yes, Zane, you must be so thrilled you dropped out of the picture. But not for long. You're nothing without me."

A horrible smirk crossed his face as he watched the boy moping in his room. He lifted the gun, taking careful aim.

"Soon, you'll be all mine," He whispered, "You won't be depressed anymore."

Before he could shoot, the bushes rustled.

"Who's there?" Mr. Shroud gasped.

"It's me," A male voice called, "And I'm here for justice."

The clouds moved, revealing a full moon. As the light illuminated the boy's face, Mr. Shroud gasped.

"Y-you're…"

"It's payback time."

* * *

**A/N: Who will the boy be? You'll have to wait til next time, I'm afraid. **

**Next time: Alexis notices that Chazz has been acting weird. The fact that he carries a gun does nothing but strain their relationship. Not to mention the fact that Zane's still on the loose. And what has become of Mr. Shroud?**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Ok, just in case ya missed my last note, I just wanted to remind you that this is a bit AU. Only a tiny bit. It's season mixing as I said before. That's why Hell Kaiser exists but Professor Banner is still alive. Just thought I'd clear that up. As for any and all OOCness…well, that's self-explanatory, right? The situation is bad…wouldn't you freak? Besides, everyone acts OOC at times. Oh well. I'll try to be more IC if I can anyway. --**

**Disclaimer: I do not own GX.**

* * *

Chapter 15:

Mr. Shroud stared at the figure before him. His hand trembled violently, causing him to drop the gun. "I thought you were on my side!"

"Don't make me laugh." The boy scoffed.

A long silence followed. Neither of them moved, only watched each other carefully. Tension hung heavy in the air.

The moon broke through the clouds, casting an eerie glow on the earth below. The dim light cast shadows across the ground and the building. A chill ran through the air as the wind blew, whistling through the trees, causing the branches to sway and groan.

Mr. Shroud swallowed hard as the moonlight illuminated the boy's face. He was able to get a better look at him now that there was light. The boy wore a long, black trench coat and black pants. His hair was at his shoulders; however, the color could not be discerned. His face was concealed by a mask.

"What are you doing here?" Mr. Shroud growled, trying to sound menacing. "I thought I'd taken care of you a long time ago. I thought you'd left!"

"Perhaps appearances are deceiving." The boy smirked, "Perhaps I was just waiting for this moment all along."

"Is that why you left Duel Academy so discreetly? No one knew you'd even gone. But I noticed."

"Well, how perceptive of you!" The boy scoffed, taking another step towards his wary adversary. "You knew I was gone. But do you know for what purpose? Ah, therein lies the question."

"Drop it." Mr. Shroud seethed. "Let's cease this small talk. Do what you're going to do. This is about your sister, isn't it?"

The boy's mouth turned sharply down, his voice bitter and icy. "My sister? Yes, of course! And what you did to my best friend. How could you?"

"It's part of the job…Mr. Rhodes."

"I don't appreciate it very much." Atticus growled, "I can't believe you'd do this."

"Not like you haven't had your own fair share of mishaps." Mr. Shroud pointed out all too gladly, gesturing towards the youth's outfit. "Since when did you decide to go back to the darkness?"

"Since a certain man started toying with my sister and my best friend! You already knew that. I thought I'd made myself MORE than clear. But let's forget about all the questions. Enough talk, more action!" Atticus glared at Mr. Shroud as he slowly slipped his hand into his jacket, "If I thought I could duel you for this, believe me, I would."

"Don't even think about--"

"I'm not playing with you." Atticus snapped, "I'll have you know I'm serious." Having said this, he produced a handgun of his own. "I guess this is it."

Mr. Shroud's grip tightened around his own gun. "You're such a fool." He spat, "Don't you realize you could've taken me out without making a big deal out of it? Don't you realize you could've shot me without making yourself known to me?"

Atticus' gaze grew icier. "No. But if I had, then you probably would have sensed my presence anyway."

"I guess it's whoever shoots first then," Mr. Shroud smirked. "However, if I shoot you, you know you'll die. Remember your condition."

Atticus growled and tried to pull the trigger; however, he found it to be jammed. Before he had time to unlock the trigger, Mr. Shroud reacted. A gunshot rang throughout the campus. Atticus' eyes widened as his hand clamped over his heart.

"You…bastard…" he gasped as he sank to his knees, "You knew this would happen all along, didn't you? You locked my trigger on purpose!"

"I can't have anyone interfering with my plan." Mr. Shroud told him. That being said, he walked away, leaving Atticus on the ground.

The mask feel slid off of Atticus' face. He looked up at the stars with tears glistening in his chocolate brown eyes. "All I wanted…" He gasped, "Was to save you guys…I'm so sorry…" He coughed, staining his mouth with crimson. "I love you, sissy! Wherever you are right now…"

A shadow blocked out the moonlight as Atticus closed his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks. He opened his eyes partially, sniffing, to see Zane gazing down at him. His muscles tensed. Surely, Zane would finish the job.

"Zane, I don't care if you kill me," He sniffed, squeezing his eyes shut, "Just know that I love you. You're my best friend in the whole world and I'll gladly suffer for your sake. If only you would be all right…"

He gritted his teeth, preparing himself for the blow. It never came. Instead, Zane knelt by him and placed his hand over Atticus' bleeding chest. He left it there momentarily, then gently scooped Atticus up in his arms and carried him towards the school. The shadows fell across his face, masking his expression.

"Zane?" Atticus said weakly, coughing, "You didn't…why..?"

"Silence, Atticus," Zane commanded him. However, despite the connotation his words held, his voice was soft. "It's simple. You saved me. I'm repaying the favor."

"How did you know…I don't understand. Couldn't you have stopped him?"

"No," Zane muttered, avoiding the eldest Rhodes' gaze, "I can't reveal that information. I can't…tell you…"

"Zane, are you Ok? Because you--" Atticus broke off, coughing harder. Blood splattered across Zane's nose.

Zane stared down at him, alarmed. "Atticus?" For the first time in weeks, Zane regained that gentle, caring nature about him.

"I can't--" Atticus coughed harder. "I want to see Alexis before…"

Zane's expression grew panicked. He didn't question it, nor did he hesitate. Quickly, he began to run, stumbling over the steps of the dorm as he hurried through the entrance.

"Alexis!" Zane shouted, running through the halls, "Alexis! Dammit, where are you?!"

Doors flung open up and down the hall as the occupants of the dorm came out to see what Zane was screaming about. As he ran, he jolted Atticus, causing more blood to splatter on the floor. A trail of crimson droplets stained the carpet.

Finally, Zane reached Chazz's room. Panting, he banged on the door, frantic. "ALEXIS! Open up, PLEASE!"

Hearing the distress in Zane's voice, Chazz sleepily arose from bed and opened the door. However, he made sure that he had the gun behind his back. "What's--" He stopped and gasped. "Atticus!"

Atticus looked up at him with half opened, dull eyes. The sparkle was all but gone from them; they were almost lifeless. His face was pale and beaded with sweat. Coughing again, red trickled down from his mouth, staining his chin to match his chest. His breathing had grown ragged and labored; he would not live much longer.

"Ale…xis…" He gasped, lifting a trembling hand, "Where….?"

"She's right here," Chazz told him, rushing over to the bed and roughly shaking her, "Alexis, wake up, now!" He cocked his head to one side. It was strange that the noise had not awoken her. Nevertheless, he merely dismissed it and shook her again. "Alexis!"

Zane stepped into the room. His face paled. Temporarily, all traces of Hell Kaiser seemed to be gone. He was too badly shaken to behave like that.

"I don't think she's going to wake up," Zane said softly.

"Please don't tell me…" Chazz said, dread filling the pit of his stomach. He picked up her wrist and felt for a pulse. Momentarily, he was relieved, then he became alarmed. "Her heart's beating awfully fast…"

"Is she sick?" Zane asked.

"I don't know." He laid the gun down, then searched around the bed.

Zane eyed the gun suspiciously. He held his tongue, though, and watched Chazz. It was then that Chazz saw it lying against the wall--an empty bottle. Picking it up, he turned it and looked at the label.

"Oh….no…" Was all the youngest Princeton could say.

"What?"

Sighing heavily, Chazz handed the bottle over to Zane. "Sleeping pills?!" Zane gasped. "But why--?"

"I bet I know why," Chazz muttered angrily. "Now she's going to die!"

Alexis stirred a bit. Then, she shot up, breathing hard. "Don't kill me!"

Chazz and Zane stared at her. "Wasn't she…" Zane began.

"I don't know…" Chazz looked back at the bottle to see the cap was missing. Upon further investigation, he found that the cap and some pills had rolled under the night stand. "Oh…I guess she must've taken one and then forgotten to replace the cap. She must've knocked them over in her sleep."

"What about--"

"Must've been a nightmare." Chazz sighed, placing the bottle back on the night stand. "Alexis…you Ok?"

She opened her mouth then looked up at Zane. Fear filled her eyes. Before she could complain, however, she noticed Atticus, who had been quite forgotten in all the confusion, in Zane's arms.

"ATTICUS!" She shrieked, jumping up out of bed, "What happened to him? Where has he been? Oh, ATTY!"

"Sis…" Atticus gasped, smiling wanly, "I'm glad you're Ok…I was…really worried." He panted, trying to catch his breath.

"Why haven't you called Ms. Fountaine? Why haven't you called a hospital?! Can't you see he's _dying_?! He has a condition, you know!" Alexis helped Zane lower Atticus on the bed, then took his cold hand, stroking his hair away from his cool, damp forehead with her free hand. "Oh, Atty!"

"Sis…" Atticus choked, "I was just trying to…to help you…I wanted to save you…"

Alexis gripped his hand, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Oh, Atty," She whispered, "I love you, I really do." Grieved, she lowered her head and pressed her forehead to his as she began to sob. Then, crying loudly, "I LOVE YOU!! PLEASE DON'T DIE!! Please forgive me for all I've done…"

Zane backed away from her to give her space. He pulled out his cell phone and called the nurse's office as he watched the scene before him helplessly. Chazz sat by them, trying to tell Alexis her brother would be all right, and trying to convince Atticus to hold on.

"Everything's going to be all right," Chazz told Alexis, stroking her back, "He's going to be just fine. I promise you…"

"How can you say that?" She sniffed, "Can't you see there's nothing we can do for him? He was going to die anyway but now…he can't live life to its fullest anymore. He still had SO much to do…"

Chazz bit his lip as tears welled up in his eyes as well. Being at a loss for words, he only engulfed her in his arms and squeezed her tightly. Sobbing too hard to notice his comfort, Alexis laid her head on Atticus' chest and prayed that he'd live. She felt as though help would never come.

Zane stepped over cautiously, as though he were afraid his concern was unwanted. Slowly, he sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at his best friend.

"Well?" Chazz asked, "Did Ms. Fountaine say when she would come?"

Zane bit his lip. "She's coming as soon as she can."

"That's not soon enough." Chazz growled, watching Alexis grow all the more hysterical. "Damn! Why can't we take him to her?"

"It's best not to move him too much," Zane muttered, "I shouldn't have brought him here; it hurt him badly. But I panicked…"

Chazz seized him by the front of the shirt. "YOU!" He screamed, "It's all YOUR fault! He wouldn't be as bad off if you hadn't been so stupid! He might not have even been hurt at all if it hadn't been for you!"

Zane's forehead creased in a scowl. "Hey, it's not my fault he got in Shroud's way. I could've taken that bullet instead."

"Did you KNOW about this?" Chazz snapped.

Zane refused to reply.

"Dammit, Zane! DAMN YOU!"

"Chazz," Alexis hiccupped, "Please, don't make this worse."

Her amber eyes pleaded with him. As her golden eyes searched his bitter charcoal ones, his eyes softened. Shaking, she reached out and took his hand, squeezing it tightly. Slowly, he squeezed back. Her hand had grown cold.

He breathed deeply. "All right, let's just all calm down. It's going to be all right…right?"

Alexis squeezed her eyes shut and nodded. She heaved a lengthy sigh, but calmed down considerably. When she opened her eyes again, they were no longer filled with tears. Rather, she looked ready to take charge.

"All right, since Ms. Fountaine isn't here yet, I'm not sure what exactly we can do…but we have to try something. Do either of you have any idea how we can transport him to a hospital?"

"Call….Kaiba?" Atticus coughed.

"Shhh," Alexis stroked her brother's hair, "Don't talk. And Kaiba wouldn't come down for this. You know how he is. We have to find the solution on our own. I'm not really sure how to go about this..." She paused and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Guys, we're going to have to steal the helicopter."

"What?" Chazz looked taken aback, "How the hell are we going to do that?"

"Well," She pondered this for a moment, then sighed. "I've got a bit of an idea. But it's not going to be easy. There's no guarantee it will work. And if it doesn't, then we're so screwed. Especially if we get caught. Here's my plan: Chazz, I want you to go and sneak into the helicopter, you know, get it ready? I hope you know how to fly one."

"Why me?"

"Because you're so thin that you can squeeze into tight places. Therefore, you could probably find a way into a locked room more easily."

Atticus began to snicker.

"What?"

"You said…" He laughed, then coughed.

"Stop that!" Alexis commanded, her face red, "You're hurting yourself! Anyway, you could probably sneak into the hanger better than either Zane or I could. You're used to skulking around. Can you fly one?"

"Well, yeah, sort of," Chazz muttered, "I mean I took some lessons and all…but not many. I'm not that--"

"Doesn't matter. We're desperate. Ok, Zane, I need you to distract the Chancellor, Ok? Come up with something ridiculous…and I'll go get some medical supplies and find a way to transport Atticus to the helicopter without hurting him. I might need your help when the time comes. When Chazz finishes setting everything up, I want you to come with me and help me carry Atticus to the helicopter. We'll need a way to signal each other…any ideas?"

"Um, cell phones?" Chazz said matter of factly.

"Hm, I don't know if that will work. I mean, if one of us calls and we're busy, then it could cause a problem. I mean, if you're in a tight spot--"

Atticus snickered.

"Be quiet, dear brother! Anyway, if one of us is busy, and the phone startles us with noise or vibration--"

Atticus snickered again. "Vibration…"

"Atticus, PLEASE. Why must you joke at a crucial time like this? Anyway, if that happens, then we might mess up…cell phones are not a good idea. We need a set time to do this. Ok, I got it. Chazz, how long do you think it will take to set up?"

"Um…I don't know…it depends."

"Can you do it in exactly fifteen minutes?"

Zane coughed. "I don't think Atticus can last that long."

"Dude, he's _laughing_," Chazz pointed out disdainfully, "I think he can--"

"It could be a sign that he's, ahem, 'close to his time.' It's best that we do this as quickly as possible." Zane pointed out, "I say that Chazz takes ten minutes max."

"Hey! I don't think I can do that! I mean, it already takes some time…and I don't remember everything at once! It was so long ago…besides, what if there's no fuel?"

"We can't waste time anymore," Alexis muttered, "We're going to have to assume that it's fueled. So, here's the plan. Chazz gets the helicopter ready in fifteen minutes. Zane will distract the Chancellor for seven minutes. In the meantime, I will go into Dr. Crowler's office and snatch the first aid kit. I will meet Zane back in this room after nine minutes. From there, we'll carry Atticus to the helicopter, hopefully taking five or six minutes."

"This plan is so flawed! It will NEVER work," Chazz told them, "It'll take MUCH longer to go across campus and back."

Alexis shook her head. "No, Zane will distract the Chancellor over the phone. I guess we don't have to take that long--"

"Shut up. Let's go NOW." Zane told her, "We have NO time to waste. Let's GO."

The three parted ways, having to leave Atticus behind unattended. They had no other choice.

-------------------------------------------------

Alexis hurried to Dr. Crowler's office. Much to her dismay, however, the teacher was occupying the room. Nevertheless, she took advantage of it. She might as well try to enlist his help. After all, they didn't have much of a chance with her plan. There were so many things that could go wrong. No, they needed help.

"Dr. Crowler?"

"What do you want? And what are you doing in--"

"Do you know where Ms. Fountaine is?" She blurted, grabbing the first aid kit.

"No, I don't." Dr. Crowler sniffed.

"Well, there's been an accident…"

He looked up from his paper. "An…accident?"

"Yeah, and we really need to get medical help."

He started to get up, "I can help--" He began.

Before either had time to do anything more, a figure stepped out from behind the door. "You're not going anywhere."

"What the--" Alexis began.

"Goodbye."

Two gunshots rang throughout the dorm. Then, the figure fled, knowing that people would be coming to investigate.

Alexis lay on the floor, curled up in a fetal position, shivering. Was she dead? If she was, who would take care of Atticus? She had to stay alive. She had to take care of her brother.

When she finally gained the courage to open her eyes, she saw Dr. Crowler, lying on the floor in front of her. Crimson stained the carpet, trickling from his limp body.

"Oh no," She gasped, tears stinging her eyes.

"Forget me…" he gasped, "Go save…yourself…"

"But, I can't--!"

"I did this…for you…go…before he comes…back…"

Alexis swallowed hard and nodded. There was no sense in letting his heroism go to waste. She had to save her brother. Besides, the occupants of the dorm would take care of Dr. Crowler. He was in good hands. Turning quickly, she ran.

----------------------------------------------------

Chazz silently cursed as he crept into the darkened hanger and crashed into a wall. Hoping no one had heard him, he looked both ways, then, seeing the coast was clear, ran across the room. He spotted a row of hooks on the wall, one of which held a key. Cautiously, he took the key from the hook and snuck over to the helicopter.

"Good thing the Chancellor doesn't believe that a student would be bold enough to steal this thing," Chazz thought as he climbed inside and began to mess with the controls, "I really hope I remember how to do this. Atticus' life depends on me. So, of course Alexis would trust me with him…I can't let my darling princess down…nor can I let Atticus down."

Suddenly, Chazz's ears pricked. Had that been the sound of footsteps? No, it had to be his imagination...or was it? After a moment, he eased back into the controls, deciding it had been nothing. As he flipped switches on, he grew uneasy. Something wasn't right. This was too easy. Peering out the window, he noticed two security guards chatting a few feet away from the helicopter. Quickly, he ducked down to the floorboard.

"It's a shame really."

"Tell me about it. Such a kind woman…it happened so fast!"

"Well, she's not the only one."

"Oh, yeah, I heard something about that little Truesdale kid…such a shame."

"That's only the tip of the iceberg. It's so obvious these incidents are related. I mean, first, Katiann Shroud, then Syrus Truesdale, then Ms. Fountaine!"

"It's so terrible..."

"Who would be so stupid as to make it obvious that they're connected?!"  
"Maybe it's a set up. Maybe that's what they want us to think."

"Maybe. But I say that--"

Two gunshots were heard in the distance. Chazz stifled a gasp.

"What the hell was that?"

"Oh, damn, not another one."

"We'd better hurry; let's go!"

Two pairs of footsteps could be heard hurrying away. The door to the hanger swung open, then slowly creaked shut. It slammed, echoing off the walls, leaving the room dark and empty.

Chazz hugged his knees to his chest, becoming aware of how violently he was trembling. He heard the blood pounding in his ears for the first time, and realized how terribly scared he had been. Shaking, he weakly got to his feet. He breathed a sigh of relief as his heart rate slowly decreased.

"That was close, too close," He muttered under his breath as he continued to mess with the controls, "Now I'm really behind. I'll have to hurry to catch up. Damn. I can only hope I make it in time."

--------------------------------------------------------

In the meantime, Zane had called the Chancellor. At the moment, they were having a pointless discussion about Zane's future.

"So, Zane, I hope to see you grow as a fine young man. You know that I've hoped that since I trained you."

"Um, yes, of course," Zane replied awkwardly, "But, I'm really worried about the Pro leagues. Could you give me any advice?"

"Hm, well, I say just follow your instincts and…don't do anything stupid that would ruin your image or career."

"Like what?" Zane asked dryly.

"Well, like drinking and driving! That's the stupidest thing that most anyone could do…"

"Right," Zane muttered.

"So, anyway, do you think you'll ever--"

"Chancellor Shepherd!" Zane heard a voice in the background yell, "You've got to get off the phone. Something terrible has just happened!"

Zane tensed up. "Oh, no, Chancellor, you can't get off…I have something important to tell you regarding the--"

"I really must go, Zane. This sounds urgent."

"But, you must understand, this is regarding the--"

"Chancellor, it's Crowler! He's been hurt, badly! He might not make it through the night…"

Zane grimaced. So this wasn't about Chazz or Alexis after all. He might as well let it go. They'd be preoccupied with Crowler; so much that they wouldn't miss the helicopter, unless….unless they needed it to fly him out. Inwardly, he cursed. How were they going to take care of Crowler AND Atticus? Nothing could be done. Atticus couldn't wait. From the way that it sounded, according to the panicked shouts of the men, Crowler was going to die anyway. He might as well continue with the original plan.

---------------------------------------------------

Alexis waited in the room, tapping her foot impatiently. Glancing over at her brother's pale face, she bit her lip, wondering how much longer she should wait. Atticus weakly lifted his head and offered his sister a wan smile.

"I love you, sissy."

Her eyes softened. "I love you too, Atty." She sat on the edge of the bed and took his hand, "And no matter what, I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you. Do you hear me? I'm going to take good care of you. Ok?"

Atticus smiled, then coughed.

"You're doing a great job of holding on; just wait a little longer, Ok? You're doing just fine." To herself, she thought, "Where is Zane? He should've been here three minutes ago. That's it. Chazz must be worried sick. We can't wait any longer. I've got to be strong and do this on my own."

Taking a deep breath, she straightened up. Then, she hooked her arms under Atticus' and began to drag him away. She ignored the gun that was lying on the edge of the bed.

"This isn't going to be easy for me," She told Atticus, "So bear with me, Ok?"

Atticus only smiled at her, signaling that he understood. Seeing this, Alexis felt her heart go out. He wouldn't last much longer.

------------------------------------------------------------

Chazz glanced nervously at the time. They should've arrived twenty minutes ago. So where were they? Feeling uneasy, he debated on whether he should stay or whether he should go look for them. For some reason, he felt as though Alexis really needed him. Shaking his head, trying to dismiss the feeling as paranoia, he attempted to sit still and think of other things. However, his conscience and protective instincts got the better of him. Quietly, he slipped out of the helicopter and began to sneak back towards the boys' dorm.

When he had walked about half of the way, he spotted a figure afar off. He ducked in the shadows and watched. To his relief, he saw that it was Alexis. Then, growing alarmed, he noticed that she was alone, dragging Atticus with much difficulty. He hurriedly ran up to join her.

She glanced up, startled by his presence. At first, a look of fright crossed her face, then, seeing it was him, she relaxed. Wordlessly, Chazz helped her pick Atticus up and carry him back to the hanger. They had some trouble sneaking in silently, however, they managed.

Once they'd strapped Atticus down, Chazz cringed and turned the key. Much to his relief, it started without a hitch. A moment later, he brought it off the ground and flew it out of the hanger. Glancing over at Alexis' pale face, he figured her should offer her some comfort.

"Come here, Lex." He told her, patting the seat next to him.

She shook her head, squeezing her brother's hand. "He could die at any minute."

Chazz bit his lip and swallowed back the words that had been on the tip of his tongue. Yes, he did need her help, but he figured he'd have to manage on his own. Atticus needed her more, in case he…

"Alexis," Chazz murmured, "Where'd Zane go?"

"I don't know," She admitted, "It's sort of scary…I mean, because he seems to have an alter ego…he could've snapped back into the _other_ him. I just hope he didn't do anything crazy like sabotage the helicopter while we were gone…or worse…what if he's IN the helicopter?"

Chazz stiffened. "Lex, don't say things like that, please. It's SO disturbing."

"Well, I just worry, that's all." She muttered, stroking Atticus' hair. "You have to think of every possibility and be ready."

"That's true." He admitted, "I just don't want to think about it."

Alexis' brow furrowed all the more in worry. "Are we going to be there soon? Please tell me we will be."

Chazz sighed heavily. "I don't know, Alexis. I don't really know what to do or where to go. I'm trying, Ok?"

Alexis sniffed. "Chazz, I'm sorry I'm making you do this. I know we tried to get help from the teachers…but they can't help us. I tried to get Dr. Crowler's help, but he…he got shot…"

"Another one?" Chazz sighed heavily, "This just keeps getting worse and worse. Something has got to be done."

"Well, the teachers can't do anything, and Atticus couldn't do anything…There's nothing we can do."

Chazz frowned. "Lex, that's NO way to talk. We HAVE to do something. No one else is going to do it for us. Listen to yourself! You were the one to pull things together tonight. I'm proud of you for keeping your head. But…now perhaps you need to have some confidence in yourself. You see now that you can do it. Don't give up. Do you hear me? I know you can do it. I know we can do something if we try hard enough."

"Chazz, I don't think it's just Shroud or Zane that's the problem here," Alexis murmured, "I think we're dealing with something far bigger than what it appears to be on the surface. We've only seen the tip of the iceberg, and I don't think Shroud is working alone. Zane might be…but not Shroud."

"Well, what do you think the problem is?"

"Hm, well, I'm not sure." She looked down at Atticus, "By the way, why are you dressed so strangely? Is it some sort of ridiculous hitman costume of yours?"

Atticus grinned sheepishly. "Well, I…um…I guess…"

She sighed heavily. "All right, all right. You'll never change."

"That's what you think, sis," Atticus mumbled under his breath. "Little do you know…I have changed."

As they landed and carried Atticus out to the hospital, a card dropped from his pocket. Neither Chazz nor Alexis caught sight of it, but Atticus noticed immediately. They carried him through the doors, unaware that Red Eyes Darkness Dragon had dropped to the ground…

------------------------------------------------------------

"Alexis Rhodes?" The nurse pushed her glasses up her nose as she stepped into the waiting room. "We believe your brother will live…"

Alexis breathed a sigh of relief and loosened her grip on Chazz's hand. "That's a relief."

"However…"

"Great. The infamous 'however.'" Chazz muttered.

"…He will need extensive surgery and might be in the hospital a long time. He might never fully recover. And we cannot be sure if he will live in the long run. His condition…well, you know."

Alexis' eyes dropped to the floor. After a moment, she nodded. "I understand. Thank you."

"I'm sorry." The nurse murmured as she walked out.

Alexis looked over at Chazz. "This is unbelievable. I can't stand to think that that horrible man is still out there, at large."

Chazz embraced her tightly. "Don't worry, Lex, we'll get him."

She clenched her teeth, anger burning in her amber eyes. "I changed my mind, Chazz. I know I said we couldn't do a thing but…now I'll do anything I have to. Even if it means I have to duel him myself."

"You don't have to do this alone."

She turned to him, her eyes filled with resolution. "I have to. He's my brother."

"Don't be foolish." Chazz admonished her, "Think about this; if he did that to Atticus, then he can most surely do it to you. I say we gang up on him."

"Are you saying that Atticus is more skilled than me? Do you think I'm utterly incapable of handling it? That I'm not strong enough as a duelist? Can't you just trust me?" She glared at him.

He frowned back at her. "NO! That's NOT what I'm saying. But I think it's a bad idea to do this alone. You can depend on me for back up. You should."

She sighed heavily. "Fine, Chazz," She said bitterly, "But I was only trying to protect you, too."

A look of surprise crossed his face. "Really?"

"Of course!"

"But why?"

"Why?!" She almost shouted, leaning dangerously close to his face. He recoiled, looking surprised as she yelled. "Why?!! Because I love you, you dork!!!"

He stared at her, his onyx eyes wide. "What did you just say?"

She slapped her hands over her mouth, her face red. "Sorry, sorry, sorry…What I meant was…I care about you a lot, Ok? I don't want you to get hurt. So let me take care of it because it's MY problem, not yours, Ok?"

She turned away from him, her face burning. With all her heart, she hoped he wouldn't take her seriously.

"Alexis?" He poked her side.

"What?" Her face turned redder.

"Did you really mean what you just said?"

She whirled around to face him, trying to scowl but failing miserably. "Chazz…it came out wrong. I mean, I love you…but not…like that. Ok?"

He looked stunned for a moment, then let his eyes drop to the floor. "Oh, Ok. I get it."

Guilt washed over her. She threw her arms around his neck and squeezed him. Then, she planted a hard kiss on his lips. He stiffened, surprised by her gesture. After a moment, his arms slipped around her waist, and he returned her kiss.

She pulled away, finding it hard to do so. Daring to look up, she searched his eyes, her own golden ones softening. He smiled a little and touched her cheek gently, causing her cheeks to automatically flush with red.

"Well, whatever you say, Lex." He muttered, "But I will always love you. Don't you ever forget that."

"Yeah," She laughed nervously, leaned back in his arms, then whispered, "If only I could forget…"

* * *

**A/N: IMPORTANT NOTICE PLEASE READ. I've rewritten the chapters for this fic. I have not changed the main plot or such. I have only fixed some of the OOCness (such as sluttyness) and certain scenarios. The chapter with the most drastic revision is the first chapter. None of the story has changed, I promise. Just a few scenarios but the plot is essentially the same. Please leave any concerns you have about this in your review. I shall try to answer any questions. And please, don't say you like the original better until you've read the revision. It won't be too bad, I promise.**

**Next time: Chazz and Alexis find out what happened to Ms. Fountaine and Dr. Crowler after they were shot. Zane is still missing, and Shroud has not shown up. Have they finally gotten the lull they need so they can focus on developing their relationship?**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: ****READ THIS UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE CONFUSED!!!!!!**** Ok, so I think I've made my point. In case you've been living under a rock, I REVISED THIS. That means that I changed certain scenarios. Really, you only have to re-read chapters 1 and 2. However, if you're too lazy or don't have the time, I will provide in the synopsis below.**

**SUMMARY OF REVISION**** (unless you want to re-read it which I strongly suggest) : Well, basically, instead of her friends hating her and shunning her completely, they just give her a lot of space. She wonders why until she finds out that a rumor has been spread that she is pregnant with Jaden's child and has had sex with both Jaden and Zane. No one wants to make her uncomfortable, so they're nice and respectful to her, but they give her her space. Furthermore, she is depressed for several reasons, one of which being Zane is distant. Another being that Atticus has a heart condition that could cause him to die at any given moment, and she thinks it's her fault because of some mean things she'd said to him (right before he lapsed into his first episode.) She thinks she can never undo the damage or make amends. Basically, she feels pretty hopeless. Really, I just took out a lot of the sluttyness (as best as I could). Please bear with me and if you can re-read the chapters. Thank you.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own GX.**

* * *

Chapter 16: 

The room was still and quiet. Alexis lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, listening to the birds chirping outside as they welcomed the early morning. She took a deep breath and let it out in a heavy sigh. Somehow, she felt as though her world were falling apart. So many people had been hurt. And no one was sure why the shooter wanted to murder them. After all, they had been innocent victims. They had done nothing to threaten anyone.

Tears stung her eyes as she thought about Ms. Fountaine. Why, of all people, did she have to be shot? Thankfully, she had not been killed. She could be comforted by that much. But if the shooter really was going to hurt someone as sweet and caring as her, who all would he kill? The thought scared her. She only pulled the sheets tighter around her and gripped the blankets closer to her chest.

Rolling over on her side, she stared at Chazz, who was sleeping peacefully beside her. She wondered how he could even sleep at a time like this. She supposed it was because he'd been exhausted by the past events. Her brow creased in a more troubled expression. How could she ever forgive herself for letting those people get hurt? Dr. Crowler should not have taken the bullet; it was meant for her. All those innocent people had been hurt instead of her.

And then there was Zane. She shivered thinking about how he'd probably raped her while she was unconscious. He claimed he hadn't yet…she wasn't so sure. Deep inside, she felt as though she should assume he had, however, she also felt that she could somehow believe his word. Well, no matter. Whatever had happened, surely it was her fault as well. After all, she had angered him by defying him. And she had purposely cheated on him with Chazz. Not to mention he'd always loved her and she'd always pushed him away. She's always ignored him and denied him, disallowing his tender, desperate affections. Yes, it was mainly her fault if she thought about it like that.

As the sickness overwhelmed her, she grew more and more anxious. Finally, unable to stomach it any longer, she leapt from the bed and rushed into the bathroom.

The sickness passed after a few minutes. She threw up several times, then collapsed to the cool tile, breathing heavily and sweating. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she shivered and tried not to blame herself. So many times had people told her it hadn't been her fault; however, their words meant nothing. She needed actual proof to show that there was nothing more she could've done. That was just it; there was so much more she could've done, yet hadn't. And for what? Just because she had been scared? Excuses! They were nothing. She was nothing. It all meant nothing.

She gripped her head in absolute anguish. She spent a moment crying softly over it, then, took a deep calming breath and arose. Quickly, she brushed her teeth and showered, hoping to wash herself clean of her iniquities. The shower did her mind some good; it rather calmed her down. Feeling much more humane, she stepped out in a towel and went into the adjoining room to find some clean clothes. Suddenly feeling lazy, she just grabbed Chazz's boxers and one of his T-shirts and pulled them on. Then, after drying her hair, she climbed back into bed with him.

It was rather nice, she decided, that they didn't have classes that day. The police needed to investigate without any hindrance, which meant no students were allowed out of their dorm rooms, so school had been cancelled. Besides, they needed a day to recover from the horrific experience. That was something that Alexis was more than grateful for.

She moved closer to Chazz and stared down at him. Her eyes softened and she could not help the tiny smile that came to her lips. She reached out and began to gingerly stroke his hair. A smile came to his face as she continued to run her fingers through his surprisingly soft ebony spikes. She laughed softly at how cute he looked, and how he'd protest if she ever told him this.

After a moment of running her fingers through his silky raven hair, she moved her hands and cupped his face in them. Then, she leaned down and brushed her lips to his. He began to stir a bit as she did so.

"Chazzy, wake up," She whispered, the smile dropping off of her face, her eyes gazing down at him with despair, "Please, I need to talk to you." She pressed her cheek to his, and sighed heavily, now saddened.

Slowly, Chazz opened his charcoal eyes. He yawned and looked down at her, cuddled against his chest. "What's wrong?" He placed a hand on her back.

"Do you think…that I could've done more to prevent what happened?" She bit her lip and pressed her cheek against his chest, listening to his heartbeat and hoping he would be kind to her.

"What do you mean?"

She propped herself on her elbows, still hovering over his body. "Do you think I could've done more to prevent the others from taking the bullets meant for me? Do you think I could've stopped that had I not been so scared and had I thought logically? And what about Zane? Is it not my fault that he's treating me so badly?"

He stared at her in disbelief. "Why do you blame yourself?" He asked in surprise, "You've done nothing wrong. Actually, you've done all you could've to stop all this! Please don't blame yourself…"

Her eyes dropped from his. Slowly, she lowered herself back to the mattress, and lay still and close to him. He rubbed her back in an attempt to console her. However, she still felt pretty dreadful about the whole business. Finally, she brushed him away and stood.

"I'm going to fix us some tea," She murmured, stepping over to the tiny stove and pulling a kettle out from under the cabinets.

He was completely silent as she heated the water and steeped the tea bags. All he did was prop himself on his elbow and watch as she prepared it. She glanced over at him and swallowed hard, feeling nervous. Blushing, she turned back around and pulled the tea bags out. She was shaking so badly, though, that she dropped them before she could make it to the trash can. Why, did she, all of the sudden feel so nervous? Biting her lip, she tried to pick up the cups. Immediately, he leapt out of bed and helped steady her. She blushed more deeply at the physical contact.

"Thank you," She murmured, averting her gaze, "I would've burnt myself." Here, she gave a little laugh. "I'm such a dork."

He rubbed her elbows, looking down at her. Then, he buried his face in her neck and kissed it. "No, you're not. Stop beating yourself up. Let's just have some tea and some breakfast, Ok?"

"Ok. I'll fix it."

"Are you sure? I don't want you to overwork yourself. You already seem stressed enough," He told her, still gripping her arms. Then, he stroked her cheek, causing her to shiver. His eyes were filled with concern. "Are you Ok? You look so pale…You look like you might pass out. Here, sit down. I'll fix breakfast." He guided her to a chair and seated her.

"No," She protested, "I'm fine. Please let me do it. I can do it on my own." Nevertheless, she remained seated. She was too drained to get up. Secretly, she was grateful for his help.

She watched as he put some bread in the toaster. Secretly, she'd been hoping that he would attempt a far more complicated dish to try to impress her, then fail at it. It would have cheered her up greatly. However, he didn't seem to be in the mood for it. In fact, he seemed to be rather cranky, from the way he was cursing at the toaster under his breath.

She leaned on the back of the chair and could not help but smile at him as he battled with the accursed device. She laughed softly when the toast came out burnt. Well, he had managed to amuse her after all.

He shot her a dirty look. "I'm NOT perfect, Ok?"

"I know," She giggled, "Thanks, Chazzy."

He raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"For making me feel better, you dork. Now fix some fresh toast and this time, don't burn it. Put the setting lower, dear. It's on too high." She smirked very slightly at him. "Ah, Chazz. Come here."

He walked over, a suspicious expression on his face. He still carried the blackened toast with him. She laughed softly again and beckoned for him to lean down. When he did so, she took his face in her hands and kissed him on the chin, just below the lips, to tease him.

"You always look so cute," She whispered, "Thanks for making me feel better." Having said this, she wrapped her arms around his waist in a tight hug, then buried her face in his chest. She held on tightly for a long time, unable to let go.

"Um, Lex, do you want to eat or not?" He asked awkwardly, after several minutes of clinging.

"Oh," She blushed and released him. Then, she snatched the scorched bread from him and threw it out the window. "For the birds," She told him, ignoring his shocked expression, "That smell was giving me a headache."

She sighed heavily, and brushed past him. Ignoring his protests and his commands to sit down, she began to fix them a breakfast of steamed rice with eggs. Finally, seeing he had no choice, he sat down and pouted.

"What do you want to do today?" She asked, taking a small taste of the orange she'd just chopped up.

"I don't know. I guess we can just watch TV or something," He muttered, leaning back in his chair.

"What a way to spend a day," She mused, stirring the rice so it wouldn't stick to the steamer.

"Well, there's nothing better we can do," He pointed out, "We can't leave the dorms or even go out on the balcony."

"True," She fell silent for a moment, thinking as she flipped the eggs, "Hmmm…we could talk or something. Or read."

He made a face. "I really don't feel like doing much of anything. I'm SO tired from yesterday." He hung his head down, and held it in his hands. "I'd just like to go back to sleep."

She sighed heavily. "Chazzy…" She paused, feeling herself begin to shake. "Please, no…"

"What?"

She quickly scraped their breakfast onto some plates and rushed over to him. She put her hand on his shoulder and looked concerned. "Please take better care of yourself. I'm so worried about you. You haven't been right since you were sick with poisoning. Please just take better care of yourself. Please. I beg you. Let me care for you if it's necessary."

He looked up at her with tired eyes. "Lexi," He whispered, rubbing her hand.

She saw the distress in his eyes. Immediately, she collapsed into the chair next to him and rubbed his hand back, looking into his eyes with the same concerned look. "Baby, what's wrong? Tell me what's wrong."

Chazz sighed heavily. "I just feel really tired today. I want some time to rest. It's just been a rough week and I haven't been feeling well…"

"You were fine a minute ago." She squeezed his hand tighter.

"I know, I know," He breathed deeply, "It's just…it just hit me, Ok? The exhaustion and everything."

"I understand," She whispered, kissing him on the cheek, "It comes and goes. The same thing has been happening to me. You'll be all right in a minute. I'll sit here with you until it passes."

"Thank you," He muttered, lacing his fingers with hers.

"No problem. We're going to get through this together. We have each other to lean on, Ok?"

Chazz nodded and took a deep breath. "Alexis…"

"Yes, Chazz?"

"Alexis…" He breathed deeply several times, "Alexis…"

"What?" She became greatly concerned, "What's wrong?"

"Lexi…I think I might…"

"What?"

"I'm going to…throw up…"

"No, you're not, Ok? Just take deep breaths, lean on me, and calm down."

He nodded and leaned against her shoulder. She stroked his hair as he breathed deeply, trying to calm him. After a moment, she laid her cheek against the top of his head and snaked her arm around his waist, patting him on the back. Finally, his breathing slowed and he relaxed. The moment seemed to have passed.

"There, isn't that better now?"

He nodded. "Sorry, I just, you know…stress and everything."

"No problem."

"Can I eat now? Because I'm really hungry…"

She rolled her eyes and handed him the plate. "Just don't eat too fast, Ok? I don't want you puking all over the floor."

He grinned sheepishly at her. "I won't."

They took their plates and began to eat slowly. Neither of them said a word, nor did they look at each other. Alexis felt her cheeks reddening at the thought of finally being able to spend a quiet afternoon with him. They hadn't really been able to do that yet. It would've been nice had they been able to go down to the beach for a picnic or something. But this would have to do. At least they didn't have to get dressed. They could just bum around in their pajamas.

They finished eating soon, and put their plates in the sink. Just as she was about to wash them, Chazz grabbed her wrist. She looked up, surprised. He put his finger to his lips and led her to the sofa, where he pulled her down to sit. They looked at each other for a moment, then blushed.

He said nothing, only slipped his arms around her waist and held her back to his chest. Awkwardly, she leaned back in his embrace and put her hands on his. He put one leg on either side of her and his cheek against the side of her head. Shivering, she closed her eyes and concentrated on his heart beating fast against her shoulder blade.

She felt him breathing softly on her as he leaned his face closer. Then, he pressed his lips gently to her temple in a kiss. She gave a small noise in response. He smiled and kissed her again. Slowly, he kissed her down to her ear, then her cheek.

"Lex?"

"Hmm?" She settled more comfortably in his arms, perfectly content.

"Why are you wearing my boxers?" He brushed his lips to her cheek, smirking slightly.

She blushed deeply. "They're comfortable! Besides…" Here, she dropped her voice, "They're yours…"

He didn't say anything for a moment.

"Um, Chazz?" She turned to see him grinning devilishly. "Chazz?"

"I love you too, Lexi."

"No, no, that's NOT what I meant," She said quickly, panicked.

He smirked. "Think I've forgotten about what you said?"

"NO! That's NOT what I meant, I said. Remember, I said I meant it in a FRIEND way?"

He just nodded and kept smirking knowingly. She glared at him. However, he only leaned down and kissed her on the lips. Her scowl melted away.

"No, we're NOT friends," He muttered, "Well, we are, but we're more than that too, you know."

She nodded, trembling a bit as he planted his mouth to her neck. "Is this what we're going to do all day?"

"Maybe," He smirked, "Got anything better in mind?"

"Not really. I thought, though, that you wanted to watch TV." She smiled slightly at him, her eyes gleaming with mischief.

He reached for the remote and turned the television on. "I do. What do you want to watch?"

She snuggled against his shoulder. "Anything you want to. It doesn't matter to me."

He kissed her on the temple. "Ok, that's fine with me then."

They spent the rest of the afternoon in front of the television, watching in silence. Both were content sitting in each others' arms. After a while, her stomach began to hurt a bit, but not enough for her to go to bed. She just kept watching for the next several hours. Eventually, however, they grew bored and restless.

"It's dark outside," Chazz muttered, "Want to go to bed or something?"

She glanced up at him. "I guess. I don't feel too good anyway. So can we just keep the TV on? We can still talk or something, I just…I feel uneasy and it would help if we kept it on."

"Ok," He agreed, "It does feel a bit creepy tonight."

She crawled into bed, grabbing his wrist and pulling him with her. She grimaced, feeling sicker to her stomach. All she could do, however, was lay still and hope that it would pass.

"Um, Chazz?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't feel so good," She admitted, beginning to tremble, "My stomach really hurts."

"What's wrong?" He asked, concerned.

"I don't know. I mean, I did throw up this morning…then you felt sick too, which was weird but…please believe me. I feel like I'm going to throw up again."

"Please try not to. Maybe you need to eat a little something to settle your stomach. I mean, we've only eaten breakfast. Maybe you're just hungry."

"Maybe," She muttered, "I'm not sure."

"Here, I'll get you something to eat." He got out of bed and brought her some crackers and some water, "This might help."

She took them wordlessly and nibbled on them for a few minutes. "Ok, I think I'm better now. But I still feel uneasy and upset. Can we…"

"Can we what?"

"Can we take our clothes off? I want to feel close to you. I'm not trying to be perverted, I just want you to comfort me. But I don't want to have sex. I don't feel well at all, remember?" She snuggled closer against him.

"That's fine with me."

He pulled his shirt off, then his sweatpants and his boxers. Blushing, she stripped her clothes off as well. He stared at her face for a moment, then cupped her cheek in his hand, fondling her face.

"Please, comfort me," She muttered, snuggling closer, "I really don't feel well."

"All right," He agreed.

They lay still for a few more minutes. She found that she could not look at him for some reason. Perhaps it was because she was ashamed. Or perhaps it was because she sensed his loving gaze. Whatever the reason, she still felt strangely uncomfortable, almost as though she were lying to him. However, this time, she wasn't lying that she cared more about him than she did. She was holding back.

He reached out and touched her cheek. Finally, she raised her eyes to meet his. She swallowed hard and blushed as she felt his arms slip around her waist. He lay close to her, holding her ever so slightly. Unable to help herself, she gently pushed his arms away and sat up.

He looked up at her, puzzled. She only held her knees to her chest and trembled.

"What's wrong now?" He asked, sitting up as well, looking a bit ticked, "What did I do this time?"

"Nothing," She muttered, "It's not you. It's--"

"Please don't start that 'It's not you it's me' crap."

"No, I just feel…I don't know. I don't want to talk about it."

He slipped behind her, grasping her shoulders, sounding more irritated, "We need to talk about it. We need to start being more open with each other. You can tell me anything, Ok?"

She took a deep breath. "Just shut up and hold me."

"Oh, now you want me to hold you? Make up your mind…you're so confusing, I swear."

"I'm confused, all right? I'm going through a hard time right now, you know that! I've had a lot on my mind…and I haven't really been doing what I should. It's my fault that so much bad has happened."

"You couldn't help--"

"Listen to me! It's my fault that Zane's like this."

"No, it can't possibly--"

"Be silent!" She snapped, glaring at him, "Let me tell you why before you go jumping to conclusions. You see…the truth is…I broke his heart."

"And that's your fault…why?"

"Well, I could have been kinder about it I guess," She admitted, "You see, when this happened, I really didn't think I needed anyone, and I didn't know how to react. So when he said he loved me, I pushed him away. I didn't hang out with him as much. And I told him I loved Jaden instead…" Here, she blushed, ashamed, "And I didn't exactly do it in the nicest way, either. Because he really had been sort of forceful about it. So I totally crushed him…and now I'm sorry I did."

"Well, that's still no excuse to go off killing people! He shouldn't have reacted like he did."

"I guess he's been frustrated deep inside for some time now. But I triggered it and now…"

Seeing she was in pain at the memory, he thrust his arms around her waist and held her tightly against his chest. She took a sharp intake of air, surprised at his gesture, and a little afraid. However, she relaxed back into his arms all the same.

"Alexis, don't you worry about a thing," He told her, "Because I'm here for you. I love you and I promise I'll take care of you until the day I die!"

"Don't say that!" She gasped, "Don't make a promise that you can't deliver."

"I can too deliver it. I will. You wait and see. In the meantime, don't feel so hurt. Don't feel like it's your fault because it's really not. I don't blame you. I'll take care of you."

She didn't know what to say. She didn't need to, though, for he was done talking. He started kissing her neck passionately, his hands moving up to her breasts. Stiffening, she closed her eyes and let him run his hands gently over her. After a moment, he pulled her into his lap.

She snuggled back against him comfortably. He tightened his arms around her waist, resting his chin on the top of her head. Blushing, she became fully aware of the fact that they were both naked; she could feel every detail of his bare body.

"Feel any better?" He asked, kissing her on the top of the head.

"Yeah a little," She muttered, "But I still feel kind of sick to my stomach. Probably because of everything that's happened. Thanks, though."

"You'll be all right," He told her, gently massaging her breast. "Just tell yourself you did all you could do and it's NOT your fault."

"Chazz?"

"Hmm?"  
She looked up into his charcoal eyes as she told him, "I'm going to duel him again."

"Who, Zane?" He looked astonished.

"Yes," She answered, "And Shroud too."

"You're insane…I already told you--"

"And I thought we had an understanding," She told him quietly, "I can do it on my own. I don't need your help."

"No, I want to duel Zane too…he hurt you…and then abandoned us when we needed his help!"

She bit her lip and refused to respond.

"Dueling Shroud is enough. You want to duel Zane too?! He's stronger than Shroud. Let me handle him."

"I don't think you could," She muttered, looking away.

"So what do you suggest? We get Jaden to do it?"

"Maybe."

He sighed heavily. "Ok, let me duel him. If I lose, then you can--"

"NO." She placed a finger to his lips. "I'll duel him. If I lose again then YOU can challenge him. Ok?"

He finally nodded, seeing that she wasn't going to relent. "Very well."

She rested her head on his chest and glanced up at him nervously. "Chazzy…I have something to tell you…"

"What now?"

"Um….well, I kinda wish that…"

"That what?"

"That you were my boyfriend instead of Zane." She looked away, her face reddening. "But I'm not going to be your girlfriend for obvious reasons."

"Even if you break up with him?"

She said nothing in response for a moment. Finally: "You know what? Let's talk about this later. I'm really tired and I feel really bad again. Just turn the TV off. Let's get some sleep."

Puzzled, he did so. He turned out the light then they lay down, his chest against her back. She lay still in the dark, listening to his breathing in her ear and thinking about how good it felt to be lying naked in his arms.

That wasn't all that she had on her mind, though. She also worried about her growing feelings towards him. She wasn't sure how to accept them. Neither was she sure how to react. Part of her wanted to give in and let him duel for her; however, another part of her demanded that she take care of the problem herself.

Feeling sicker at the thought of her dilemma, she closed her eyes. No, she would not think of it for now. For now, she'd just go to sleep. If she kept putting it off, perhaps it would go away. She slowly fell into a troubled sleep, knowing deep inside that she'd have to face her problems as soon as she woke up. And, certainly, it wouldn't be an easy awakening.

* * *

**A/N: Not the most exciting chapter, but oh well. I hope it wasn't boring. I enjoyed writing it. The next chapter will be more exciting, I assure you.**

**Next time: Jaden confronts Alexis, asking if she knows anything about Syrus' condition. Being pressured, she confesses everything to him, even the fact that she's confused about her feelings. Will she make yet another mistake that she'll later regret? Also, Mr. Shroud goes on an assassination mission. Who are his new targets and what do they have to do with him, Zane, and Atticus?**


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Ok…I'm not really sure how to say this so I'm just going to say it: I'm very embarrassed to admit that I've forgotten exactly what the hell I meant by the preview for this chapter. I forgot. Damn short term memory loss! I'll try to write it anyway, using the basic idea. Gah, my master plan.

Disclaimer: I do not own GX.

* * *

Chapter 17:

Alexis sat in Professor Banner's empty classroom, silently reading a book. It was early in the morning, almost even too early to be up. However, she had been unable too sleep, nor could she bear to stay in Chazz's room a second longer. Being locked up in there for several days with him had nearly driven her mad. It wasn't really him that had been the problem. It was the fact that she couldn't stay confined in a space, and a certain persona, so long. This was further proof that she was, indeed, lying to him and herself.

After several minutes, Alexis set the book down and stretched, yawning. While she was tired, the last thing she wanted to do was go back to bed. For the past few days--the same which she'd been trapped in Chazz's room--she'd been so sick that she'd had to stay in bed. Now, she felt slightly better and there was no way that she wanted to even remotely consider the possibility of ever sleeping again. Never mind the sheer exhaustion she felt. It was mysterious, no doubt, what the source of her weakness was. But that didn't stop her from continuing her daily life.

Looking around the classroom with half open eyes, she began to wish that someone would come in and talk to her. Preferably someone other than Chazz. Not because she was sick of him, per say; simply because she needed someone to discuss her problems with that could offer up a solution from another perspective. Perhaps she was being too much of a whiner; however, the questions were, in her opinion, in urgent need of answering. And she was no where close to figuring things out.

She watched as a few students began to trickle in, set their things down, then leave. She didn't know any of them personally, yet somehow, they all seemed to know her. It was almost as though her soul were transparent; they saw right through her and scorned upon her stupidity. What sort of role model was she? Quickly, she tried to shake the thought from her mind. She would regain her dignity back! She would defeat Zane and Mr. Shroud in their respective duels and earn her respect and self esteem again.

Feeling as though she'd lost her niche at Duel Academy, she pulled her cards out and set them on the desk. Placing her chin on the desktop, she began to lay them each out flat and face up. She gazed fondly at Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater; they were almost like old friends to her. She'd had them so long she couldn't even remember when she'd gotten them. As she thought more about it, she realized they were the only 'friends' she'd ever had that hadn't abandoned her at some point or another. And she could never repay them. Strange as it sounded, they were the very epitome of her existence. Nothing could ever come before them. After all, they'd never betrayed her, so why should she betray them?

Lately, however, she'd felt as though she owed them an apology. With the problems that had been popping up, she hadn't been dueling her best, neither had she been focusing on them with all the due respect that they deserved. Feeling ashamed, she made a silent promise to them that she'd treat them better.

Hearing footsteps on the freshly scrubbed tile floors, she looked up to see Jaden walking in, uncharacteristically early. She raised an eyebrow; what could have been so important or so earth shattering that he would sacrifice sleeping in? Or perhaps he was just as sick of the dorms as she was. Come to think of it, since he lived in the Slifer dorm, this was more than likely the case. She noted that he had a bitter air about him; he was frowning ever so slightly.

He set his things down, then began to leave. However, before he could near the door, she reached out and seized his sleeve.

"Jaden, you didn't even acknowledge my existence." She told him, a bit irked. "Aren't you even going to say hello?"

He blushed a little, ashamed. "Oh, I'm sorry, Alexis, I didn't really see you there. I was too busy thinking about Syrus."

"Oh." She paused momentarily before continuing, "How is he? Is he any better?"

Jaden shook his head. "I think we caught it too late. I'm so afraid he's going to die."  
"He won't," Alexis assured him, "We've been through tough situations before."

"But he's been poisoned so badly…"

"I know." She patted the seat next to her. Gladly, he took the seat.

"I need to talk to you about him anyway," Jaden sighed, then frowned again. "You know more than you're letting on. I can tell. Do you have any clue how this happened to him?"

Alexis hesitated, unsure of what to tell him. It wasn't exactly easy to say that his own brother had done such a horrible thing to him. "Well, I, er…you see, Jaden…"

"Just spit it out, Lex. I'm not leaving until you tell me." He gazed upon her steadily, and a bit angrily. She'd never seen him so bitter before.

Her eyes softened, her expression became one of anguish. "I wanted to talk to someone about what I've been going through, anyway." The secrets which she'd been forced to keep for so long bore upon her soul with such heavy intensity, she felt as though one more comment from him would cause her to burst.

He leaned closer in her face, trying to look her in the eyes. When she refused, he took her chin in his hand and, pushing it up, forced her to look at him. Her face flushed with pink from shame.

"You've not been yourself lately." He commented, "You've seemed distracted."

"I know." She squeezed her eyes shut.

He looked down at the cards spread across her desk and picked up Doble Passe. "Alexis, what happened to you? You used to be so into dueling…you used to be so good at it. Now you're so distracted that you're losing a lot. You don't seem to really be focused on it anymore."

She squeezed her eyes shut. "Yeah, I know, Jay. I'm sorry. It's not my fault. I still love dueling more than anything else in the world…it's just that…"

"Just that what?" He asked, placing the card back down on the desk, "Does this have anything to do with what happened to Syrus? I need to know, Lex."

She bit her lip, unable to respond. All she could do was sit stiffly in her seat, trying to keep from telling him everything. She gripped the hem of her skirt until her knuckles turned white.

"Jaden…" She took a deep breath and stopped.

"What is it? You need to tell me." He gripped her wrists, and looked her in the eye, forcing her to focus on him.

Alexis sighed heavily. The need to tell him was too great. "All right, Jaden, all right. I'll tell you everything. I have no other choice. Just please…keep this between us."

He frowned again. "If it's endangering someone, then I'll have to tell."

"Please, I can handle it. I promise you, I'm going to take care of it. Just listen," She begged, her golden eyes filling with despair, "It's just that…well…a lot of bad things have been going on. Some of which I don't even tell Chazz about."

He raised an eyebrow. "And why would you need to tell him?"

"Because…" She gulped, "We're living together." She paused a moment to let the information sink in. "He has to protect me from Zane because…he's the one who hurt Syrus. He's the reason that so many people have been hurt, including me."

Jaden stared at her for a moment before slipping his arms around her and embracing her, grieved. "You mean to tell me," He said slowly, "That Syrus is going to die because of his own brother?! How could he have…I don't…"

"I don't understand either, Jaden," She muttered, looking away, "But that's only part of the story. The rest…it gets more complicated. You see, I don't really know all about it myself but…he was working under this guy, Mr. Shroud. But I guess that they had a disagreement or something because now he's working alone. That's all I know as far as Zane is concerned. And it's all my fault he's like this because I didn't return his feelings!"

"How could you blame yourself?" Jaden asked, looking a bit angry and grasping her by the shoulders, "It's only natural. It's NOT your fault."

She sniffed a bit. "Well, he did force me to be his girlfriend. And I think he raped me…so isn't it my fault?"

"How's that make ANY sense?" Jaden gasped, "And he did WHAT?! Ok, that's it. I can't let this go on. We have to tell an adult."

She grasped his jacket tightly. "NO! Please don't. I can handle it. Chazz can help me."

Jaden raised an eyebrow. "Has he been able to help you enough? Zane is hurting himself too, you know."

"I know," She whimpered, "But I'm too scared to let an adult know. Please don't tell. Please."

"All right," He relented, his eyes softening at her distress, "I won't tell. Has Chazz been of any help to you at all?"

She nodded, swallowing hard. "He does try to protect me. And he does try to make me feel better when bad things happen. But I can't really go to him right now. I'm not myself around him." Her cheeks reddened at the thought.

"What do you mean?" Jaden asked, "You know you can be yourself and he'll accept that."

"Well, yeah, but…I can't accept that," She whispered.

"What?" Jaden looked truly confused. "What exactly do you mean now?"

"I mean, I can't accept the fact that I…feel so deeply for him. I have to hide it from him," She confessed reluctantly, "I can't tell him how I feel. The words just will never come out right. It's just too awkward. Especially since…never mind. I just don't want to ruin it."

"Especially since what?!" Jaden leaned forward, looking a bit nosy, "What else could possibly be going on in your life?"

Alexis took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then, squeezing her eyes shut, the words that she would've taken to her grave had it not been for the pressure escaped her lips. "I've been having sex with him. I lost my virginity to him."

Jaden was silent for a long time. Alexis wasn't even sure he was there anymore. Finally, she opened one eye, afraid of what she might see. He was still sitting next to her, all right. He was looking straight ahead, seemingly dazed.

"Jaden?" She whispered, "I'm sorry. Please don't hate me."

He shook his shock off and looked over at her. "I'm sorry, Lex. I was just a little taken aback, that's all. You just didn't seem the type to…you know…I never thought you'd actually…"

She closed her eyes tightly again, pained by what he'd said. "You're saying that you think I'm a whore, aren't you?" She asked, her voice shaking, "Well, I'll have you know that I care about him very much, and I'd NEVER put out for another man. I don't plan on stopping, but I don't plan on walking away from him, either, so…let's just face it. It's not as bad as it seems."

The room was filled with another awkward silence. At this point, Alexis was ready to jump up, scream at him for being so immature, and storm out. However, she merely took a deep breath and let it out slowly to keep her wits about her. Jaden, though, did not reprimand her, neither did he walk away. After a moment, he laid a hand on her shoulder and began to rub it, his brown eyes filled with sympathy.

"It's all right, Lex," He assured her, "I don't think you're a bad person. I was just really surprised. It's all right. There's no need to get so huffy about it. I'm not going to tell you you're wrong for choosing him. That's just crazy."

"What do you mean?" She looked up, confused.

"Well, if you've done all that with him, and knowing you--that's not something you'd ordinarily do with just anyone--it's obvious you've chosen to spend your life with him. How can I be mad at you for choosing someone to live with?" He blinked innocently.

Relief washed over her. She was so happy that he wasn't mad at her or condemning her. However, her relief was short lived. It was soon followed by anxiety. She wrung her hands slightly, biting her lip.

"Jaden…I'm still…"

"I know," He hushed her by placing a finger on her lips, "You need to talk things out with Chazz, not me."

"How can I…"

"Can't you just tell him how you feel?" Jaden asked, shrugging. "Isn't it that simple?"

She shook her head in disbelief. "It's NOT that easy, Jaden."

"Why not?"

"Because, because….well…" She stumbled over her words, trying to find the exact explanation for it, "It's just not, Ok? I'm sorry, Jaden but you just don't understand."

He nodded. "Ok, I get it, Lex." Rising to his feet, he stretched a bit, then said, "I think I'm going to go talk to Chazz now. I want his side of the story."

"What?!" She stared up at him, "Why?! Don't you DARE share anything that I've told you!"

"I won't. You'll do that later, I'm sure. But I really want to talk to him anyway. Something just doesn't seem right with him."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? And what exactly do you think is wrong with him?"

Jaden shrugged again. "I don't really know. That's why I'm going to ask."

Alexis said nothing more, only watched as he walked off. After a moment's thought, she too stood and snuck out of the classroom. If Chazz had anything that he was hiding from her, she didn't want to be left out of the loop. She knew it wasn't exactly right to eavesdrop, but thinking about Jaden's words made her worry. What if Chazz were seeing another girl? No, impossible. Well, there was only one way to find out. And that would be to listen in. She justified it by telling herself that she would talk to him later.

As Jaden stepped around the corner, she hung back and watched. Jaden had scarcely even greeted Chazz before Jasmine and Mindy found her, and blew her cover.

"Hey, Alexis!" They greeted in unison.

Alexis froze and bit her lip. Quickly, she improvised. Turning around to face them, she plastered a large smile on her face.

"Hey, girls. I was just going to get my books. Want to come with me?"

"Uh…sure."

Silently, she cursed. At this point, she had surely been found out. And now she wouldn't get to eavesdrop. As she walked by, she caught Jaden's gaze and blushed under his disapproving look. He shook his head, further shaming her. However, she did not see the small smile he was trying so desperately to hide.

"So, uh…what was that about?" Chazz asked, raising an eyebrow."  
"Um…well…I don't really know. I think Alexis was trying to spy." Jaden laughed a little. "She's funny."

"Why would she want to spy?" Chazz asked, frowning a bit.

"Never mind that. Forget about it. So, Chazz, how have you been doing?" Jaden smiled at him widely.

"I've been fine. Now if you could excuse me…" Chazz tried to walk away. However, Jaden held out his arms and blocked him.

"Hold up a second. I want to talk to you."

Heaving an exasperated sigh, Chazz rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall, looking bored out of his mind. "Fine, slacker. But make this quick. I have other things to do."

Jaden looked both ways in a ridiculous show to make sure no one was listening. Once he saw the coast was clear, he leaned forward and whispered, "I hear you and Lex are an item."

Chazz's face turned scarlet. "You just now figured that out? How dense can you be?!"  
"Hey, easy there. I already sort of knew, it's just I didn't know how much. She kinda, er, wow this is awkward." He placed his hand on the back of his head, laughing nervously and shutting his eyes.

Arching and eyebrow suspiciously, Chazz asked warily, "What are you insinuating, slacker?"

"Huh?" Jaden looked puzzled, "What's that mean?"

"What are you implying? Suggesting? What the hell are you saying?!" Chazz stamped his foot, all the more irritated.

"Hey, chill! Why are you so angry? I'm just saying that she told me about what's been going on between you guys."

"What?!" Chazz's face turned red again, "She did WHAT?! What did she say?" Grasping Jaden by the shoulders, he glared more, trying to seem menacing.

It was Jaden's turn to get uncomfortable. Blushing, he said very quietly, "She told me you and her have been…well…doing things…"

"What SORT of things?" Chazz asked, gritting his teeth and trying not to look embarrassed.

"Please don't make me say it," Jaden whined, "You get the point. But this has nothing to do with what I was going to ask."

"Fine. Go ahead." Chazz released him and tried to calm down. However, he remained wary. There was no telling what sort of questions Jaden would ask.

"Are you happy, Chazz?"

Chazz turned around, a look of shock on his face. Happy? He had Alexis, of course he was. Wasn't he? Well, he should be. A strange look came to his face--a mix of surprise, bitterness, and…hurt. Suddenly, the floor seemed really interesting. He fumbled with the sleeves of his blue obelisk uniform, falling silent.

"Chazz?" Jaden cocked his head to one side, trying to see the other boy's face.

Swallowing hard, Chazz shook his head. "No. I'm not happy. There, are you satisfied?"

"Why aren't you happy?" Jaden queried, ignoring the other's sarcastic remark.

Chazz took a moment to debate whether or not he should reply. It wasn't like he had to. No, but he WANTED to. Now, the only question was whether he should keep his pride or not. Finally, he caved in.

"I'm not happy because…" He paused momentarily to take a deep breath, "I don't know if she'll stay! And…it's really hard for me to stay strong for her with all she's been going through when all I want to do is scream and break down and run. I'm scared Ok? Dammit, I'm TERRIFIED. I don't know how to handle this. I just _don't_. It's like I can't be good enough. I can't try hard enough. Nothing will ever be enough to please her and nothing will ever be enough to help her. I can't protect her. The responsibility is too much. All this time I've been lying to her and myself…Ah, who am I kidding?! I can't save her from this, I can't I can't I CAN'T. And I'm really scared that one day, she's going to end up dead, and I'm going to ask myself why I didn't do anything to stop it…why couldn't I stop it….because I just wasn't good enough." Breathing hard, he sank to the floor, almost in tears. His body was shaking from the intensity of his emotion. "I don't know how I've been able to mask it this long…I shouldn't be able to hide it. I don't know how…I've put up such a good front until now…"

"Well, you haven't been yourself," Jaden pointed out, kneeling by Chazz, "And you're really not doing either of you a favor, bro. Just let it out. Tell her. You'll feel better."

"I have to be able to handle her pain and mine without showing her mine!" Chazz snapped, glaring at Jaden again, "That's just the way it is. That's the Princeton way. Show no fear. Don't show any weakness."

Jaden cringed. "That's really not good for you. Who told you that?"

"My family….my parents, my brothers…everyone that's ever expected anything of me." Chazz grumbled, "And it's none of your business. So I don't even know why I'm wasting my breath telling you. When I should be…" He quickly cut himself off.

"When you should be telling Alexis," Jaden muttered, "Yeah, I know it's hard. And I know I don't know anything about you guys. But shouldn't you at least confide in each other as friends? I mean, I do it all the time with Syrus. It's not that bad. Sure, Syrus might freak out a bit if I get upset, but he at least tries to be there for me even though he's upset too. It doesn't mean the world's going to come crashing down just because you feel a little weak. It happens to the best of us." Laughing a bit, he said good-naturedly, "Hey, it even happens to me!"

Chazz sighed heavily. "Whatever. I don't feel like talking anymore. Just…leave me alone. I can handle my own business without your advice. It might work for you, but it just won't work for me."

Having said that, he turned and walked away, ignoring Jaden's protests. There was no way he could tell Alexis. She wouldn't understand how he felt. She would get scared. Besides, he'd already promised her he could take care of her. Shouldn't he at least attempt to hold that promise? Well, whatever he did, he had to be brave about this. Their lives were at stake.

The more he thought about it, though, as he walked down the hall, the more he felt as though maybe he should tell her. Then, she might have a chance to find protection somewhere else. It wasn't right to lie to her and put her in danger just because he so selfishly deluded himself into believing he could do it. What was pride in comparison to her life? Really, he'd rather her be alive. Humiliated, he stopped around the corner and watched her talking cheerily to her friends.

He slumped against the wall for a moment, then, taking a deep breath, stepped out. Already, he felt ashamed. Scorned. He could feel the blows…just beating on him, driving him to the limit…Their voices rang eternally in his mind, racing through even his dreams.

_"You're a Princeton, so why don't you act like one?!"_

_"You'll never live up to the family name, never be worthy of it!"_

_"It was all perfect until YOU came along."_

_"Whoever said they wanted you?"_

_"NO one wants you."_

_"Because you're worthless."_

_"And you know it."_

_"You couldn't help anyone."_

_"No one could love you."_

_"We hate you."_

_"Mom and Dad hate you."_

_"The world hates you, hell, even YOU hate you."_

_"Why don't you just go and die?"_

_"Why were you even born?"_

_"Go kill yourself, already, you emo-fag!"_

Chazz quickly shook his head of these memories. His hand moved to his shoulder, the one that had been dislocated the day that those words had first been spoken to him. So cruel were they, his tormentors. So cruel, yet, ironically, so close. His persecutors were also his closest of kin.

Turning around the corner, he stopped, and caught Alexis' eye. He leaned against the wall and waited for her to say something to him. Hopefully, she'd tell him to go away so he wouldn't have to tell her. How he dreaded it! Well, he'd have to do it sooner or later so perhaps it'd be better if he got it over with.

Seeing his distressed expression, Alexis felt alarmed. She'd never seen that look on his face before. Well, perhaps she had once or twice, but never to that degree. He's never looked so…helpless. So…lost. Quickly, she told her friends she'd have to talk to them later as she hurried over to him.

The words stopped at her lips. She could not bear to ask him. Concerned, she held his cheek in her hand and looked up at him. He sighed heavily and took her hand off his face before tugging at it.

"Let's take a walk before class, Ok?"

Puzzled, she only nodded and followed him out, cautioning him not to stray too far from the school.

They walked in silence for several minutes, neither of them looking at the other. She looked straight ahead while he looked down at his feet. He was so focused on this task, he didn't even notice where he was walking. Once or twice, he almost tripped, much to his embarrassment, however, he still kept staring down.

It confused Alexis greatly that he wasn't saying a word. Wouldn't he have told her what was going on by then? Had someone upset him? She reached out a hand and tentatively laid it on his shoulder. He violently shrugged it off, now looking a bit peeved.

"Ok, this has gone on long enough. What's wrong with you?" She asked, stopping and turning to face him, crossing her arms. "Are you mad at me? What have I done?"

He avoided her gaze, his expression sour. "You've done nothing. I'm not mad at you. I'm only mad at myself."

She raised an eyebrow. "Now, that's just ridiculous. What've you done?"

He paused before answering. "Well, I've done a lot actually. For one thing, I'm a failure and a deceiver and a liar. For another thing, I let myself be pushed around and manipulated and abused! I'm just…really mad about that. And really angry at certain people…including Jaden. He went somewhere with me that NO one should EVER go, and he MADE me reveal things that I'd have rather been kept in the dark. It's just not right…Not to mention I revealed them to HIM of all people. The one person who shouldn't know my weaknesses…the one person, my rival at that, who should be intimidated by me!"

"He was just trying to help you," Alexis sighed, shaking her head in disbelief, "He really cares about you and he's your friend. So why don't you try to act grateful at least once?"  
Chazz clenched his teeth and hissed, "You just don't understand! I knew you wouldn't. Now I've said too much. Forget it."

"No, Chazz," She sighed heavily again and grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to look her in the eyes. At once, she felt reduced to a puddle. His eyes held so much anger, so much bitterness, so much…hatred. Feeling a bit frightened, she hoped that she wasn't the cause of this nor the recipient.

"Lex," He groaned, "I want to tell you. I just…can't. Because if I told you, you'd be really mad at me and you might not want to talk to me again."

Her golden eyes widened. "What are you saying?!" She felt more alarmed than before. Maybe her suspicions were correct. Maybe he was seeing another girl.

"Forgive me," He murmured, his sorrowful charcoal eyes falling to the ground again. "I can't…I can't deliver my promise to you. I can't…protect you like I said I could. I'm scared." Deciding to leave his explanation as terse as that, he shut his mouth and continued to stare at the ground.

Alexis felt sick in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't rely on him? Then who was she to go to? Panic flooded over her until she realized what he meant. He didn't FEEL like he could do it. That didn't necessarily mean that he wouldn't try. After all, hadn't he helped her out countless times? Even though he'd been unable to protect her from Zane for the most part, she wasn't dead yet, now was she? No, she COULD trust him. It was only natural that he feel this way.

Instead of yelling or crying, she smiled and hugged him tightly. Confused, he gradually let his arms slip around her as well. Feeling a bit awkward, both held on quietly for several minutes.

Leaning up, Alexis whispered in his ear, "It's Ok, Chazz, I DO understand. And I still trust you one hundred percent. Even though you don't think you can do it, I'm confident about you. That's why I chose you. And you can come to me anytime you need to. You can tell me anything. It's Ok, I still love you." With that, she kissed him on the cheek, causing a red streak to creep across his nose.

"Are you s-serious?" He asked, feeling as though he would cry.

She nodded in response. He clung to her tighter, almost squeezing the life out of her. However, she didn't mind. She just hugged him back just as tightly.

"Come on, Chazz, you're my best friend. Of course I care and understand! Ok? So don't you ever forget that."

Chazz nodded, regaining his dignity. "And, uh…I know that you mean you only love me as a friend so you don't have to explain that again. I just wanted to say anyway, even though it makes you feel weird, I love you, too. And more than just a friend. Feel weird about it? Deal with it." He poked her in the side, tickling her a bit.

"I can deal with it," She laughed, "You're not hurt by that, are you?"

He shrugged, forcing a smile. "I'm fine." Deep inside, however, he wasn't. He just couldn't bring himself to show her his true pain yet. Not when she was so needy of his help. Not when he so desperately needed to maintain his front for his own sake. If he kept it on the outside, then it wouldn't hurt as much on the inside. Sometimes, being numb was the only thing that kept him from dying.

* * *

Mr. Shroud crouched outside the open window, lurking, waiting for an opportunity. He tightened his grip around the pistol, swallowing hard. If he managed to accomplish this murder, then he'd encroach upon _their_ ranks. He had to at least commit this one homicide, so that he could be at peace of mind. His eyes squinted, the beaded sweat beginning to run down the sides of his face. Glancing at his watch, using the light that seeped out from the window, he checked the time. It wouldn't be much longer.

The night was dark, he observed. Thick blackness covered the earth, a low mist falling and creating an eerie fog. However, for such a purpose, it served him well. The absence of a moon due to the clouded-over sky aided him too. Ah, yes, the perfect night for a murder.

Of course, no one would expect him to murder this one. He seemed too kind…too…unworthy. But, oh, he _was_ worth Mr. Shroud's time. This one man would take care of most everything. This one man, who seemed so innocent, was actually the one behind it all.

True, this man had been a former boss. But no longer did he serve under _their_ kind. No, he had his own aim. And that was solely to make money. Perhaps he was being too greedy; however, greed did not concern him in a sinful sense. At this point, this man had crossed him and, more indirectly than anything, taken one of his best duelists. Zane may be working on his own, but it was not on his own will, whether he liked it or not. He was possessed by a force much greater than Mr. Shroud could've ever imagined…Most certainly, he was underestimating _their_ power.

A door creaked open and shut softly from inside the room. Mr. Shroud tensed, ready to carry out his mission. His eyes followed the figure as he stepped across the room and sat at a small, plain wooden desk in the corner. There was a dimly shining light on the desk, along with some paper and a fountain pen. The man picked up the pen and began to write, oblivious to the present and imminent danger. His back was turned to the window; he had not seen the shadow lurking among the brush.

A plump orange cat leapt from the floor and into the man's lap. He gave a small laugh and began to stroke its fur, murmuring little praises. Then, he resumed writing.

Mr. Shroud lifted the pistol, taking careful aim. The man was fully distracted now. He could do what he needed to do.

The shot fired and stayed true to its course. Mr. Shroud didn't even look as he walked away from the window. From inside, there was a loud yowl from the cat. For a few moments, Professor Banner sat still in his seat. Then, he dropped to the floor with a muted thud. However, no one heard the shot or the noise. Mr. Shroud had made sure of that.

"Now they'll think twice before messing with me," Mr. Shroud muttered as he stepped inside his room, "No more Nightshroud. No more of _their_ silly attempts. No more of _them._ And no matter what, they can't rescue Zane. He's gone into the shadows for good."

* * *

A/N: Well, not quite sure what to say about this. -.-;;

Next time: Banner is found and Alexis grows more vengeful. She challenges Mr. Shroud to a duel while Chazz challenges Zane to a duel. The two fight back to back; however, are they in for more than they can handle? Also, Mr. Shroud's time just may be shorter than he thinks… (On another note, the whole chapter won't be a duel. Just a small portion of it. Please, I can't write a duel THAT long.)


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Well, here it is. I've been working really hard to refine my dueling skills, so I once more apologize if I mess it up. On another note, I also apologize on the amount of time that has elapsed since my last update. School has been really tough for me, and I've been sleep deprived. I promise to be more diligent about updates in the future when I have more time.**

**IMPORTANT NOTE; READ: Even though I know it's dull for most of you to plow through a duel, at least scan it. There is IMPORTANT INFORMATION regarding the plot, Zane, and Atticus within the conversation that Alexis and Mr. Shroud have during the duel. READ THE DUEL. You'll be sorry if you don't.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own GX.**

* * *

Chapter 18:

Chazz and Alexis stood at the threshold of Professor Banner's room, staring inside at the blood stained wood floor. Their eyes drifted from the blood to Pharaoh, who was lying faithfully by his master's side. Then, they dared to look upon the horror itself; the Professor's body.

Chazz covered Alexis' eyes and turned her back towards the scene. He did not step inside the room; rather, he called to the cat, which refused to leave. After several more attempts, he gave up, and walked away, not even bothering to shut the door. It was not their place to mess with the evidence. Everything had to be left exactly as it had been when the Professor had been shot.

As they walked away from the Slifer dorm, staring at their feet, Alexis grasped Chazz's wrist, forcing him to look at her. He bit his lip seeing the tears in her eyes.

"Where do we go from here?" She asked, her chin trembling, "Chazz…we're next if we don't do something. I'm scared."

Chazz refused to answer for a moment, then sighed. "It looks like we have no choice now. The damn cops aren't going to do anything. The school officials won't either. So I guess we have to do something…"

"Of course we do!" She told him, "I mean, Zane is sort of my responsibility now. It's my fault that he's so messed up."

Chazz squeezed his eyes shut. "I've told you time and time again, it's not your fault. You had nothing to do with it. So why are you blaming yourself?"

"I pushed him off the edge. It's my fault he went to Shroud in the first place. If I just hadn't been so fickle…then he would be all right."

"And you're telling me that if you hadn't been so upfront with your feelings, you'd be with him now? Even though you never liked him, you'd have faked it?" Chazz asked, sending her a sideways look of contempt. "Real mature."

"Well, I didn't mean…"

"Whatever. That's not our concern right now. We have to figure out how to stop them. I can't just shoot the guy…"

"You have a gun," She dumbly pointed out.

"I can't just go around taking out whomever I please," He told her, feeling the inside of his jacket for the gun, "I have to only use it when absolutely necessary, as a last resort. Oh shit."

"What?" She looked up at him, concerned.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit," He hissed, "After that, the police are going to be searching everyone. And I have a freaking gun on me!"

She stared at him. "So throw it away!"

"But if I do that, my fingerprints will still be on it." He panicked.

"Wipe them off!"

"I can't!"

"Give it to me," She snapped, snatching it out of his jacket and frantically wiping it on her skirt, "There…except now it has my fingerprints on it…maybe we should just throw it in the ocean."

"No, maybe we'll get lucky. Besides, if we don't have it, who do you think is going to show up? Shroud, that's who! He's going to cream us if we aren't careful."

"So what do you want to do about this?" She asked, planting her hands on her hips, "After all, you don't want me to go off and take care of him myself."

"I'll help you," He muttered, taking the gun carefully from her, "I'll take care of Zane. Shroud is yours."

"You'd really trust me with Shroud?" She asked, looking surprised.

"No, it's the fact that I don't trust Zane with you. He's too good. You'll definitely be creamed if you duel him. Let me take care of that loser. And you take on Shroud since he probably doesn't know his spells from his traps. After all, he's only a manager for the Underground."

"But he has to know something. Managers don't get anywhere unless they know what they're dealing with. He has to have more knowledge than any pro."

Chazz shifted uncomfortably at his judgmental error. "Well, in that case, I still trust you. I mean, you beat me. And Zane is out to get you more than Shroud is. He's mad because you won't accept him as your boyfriend. And other things I possibly don't know about?" He raised an eyebrow, his eyes boring into her.

Her cheeks flushed with agitated pink. "Don't suggest such things. If anything happened, I don't know. I was unconscious, remember?"

"Yeah, whatever."

"Chazz!"

"Fine, let's go."

"Shouldn't we tell someone about Professor Banner?" Alexis asked a bit worriedly.

"Nah. That'd look suspicious." Chazz told her, beginning to walk away.

She caught him by the collar and yanked him backwards. "Oh, no you don't! How selfish are you? Forget about getting caught. That attitude really makes you seem like you've done something wrong. Now, we're going to report this to the Chancellor pronto. I can't have my good name smeared with the guilt of this incident. Nor can I have you taint me any more than you already have."

"Which was quite a bit, if I may remind you," He muttered under his breath, looking peeved.

She chose to ignore him as she dragged him towards the Academy's main building. He did not resist her; however, he shot her the most contemptuous glares that she thought she'd ever seen. Why he was so worked up over reporting this, she did not know. However, it sure seemed suspicious to her. She hated to doubt him; after all, they had been together the night before. So how could he have had anything to do with it? Then again, he had people under his command…

She quickly shook her head clear of such thoughts. There was no need to be so cynical about the poor boy. He was probably just stressed, that was all. All these years, society had viewed him as a maverick, and he obviously wanted away from that mindset. So there was no doubt that he only viewed this incident as another chance for people to point their fingers at him. He was a sort of scapegoat for any situation, it seemed.

Once inside, she crept towards the Chancellor's office. Taking a deep breath, she stepped through the door, dragging Chazz with her. "Chancellor Shepherd," She said nervously, "There's been another shooting…Professor Banner was the victim this time…"

The Chancellor swiveled his seat around to look at her. He frowned deeply and asked, "When did you find this out?"

"Just a few moments ago. Chazz and I found him when we went to ask him for information and help concerning a duel…"

The Chancellor asked no further questions. He simply shooed them out of his office as he picked up his phone. They were bewildered as to why they had been kicked out, however, they did not argue.

"Do you think that Shroud knew what we were planning?" Chazz asked, sitting down on a nearby bench.

She sat down next to him slowly, staring ahead at the wall in front of her. "It sure seems like it…" She leaned back against the wall, pondering their predicament. "You know, Chazz. I think we've wasted too much time. Because we didn't do this sooner, the Professor is dead. We have to keep our wits about us for a little while longer, just long enough to take him down. We shouldn't be upset about it yet…let's just go find them and duel them right now." She stood to her feet, now resolute about her decision.

Chazz stood as well and followed her outside. She walked towards the Obelisk boys' dorm, her fists balled. Although she felt uneasy, she did not turn around or ask Chazz for support. Rather, she barged into the dorm and hurried to Zane's room, then knocked angrily on the door.

Chazz grabbed her by the shoulders as the door opened. Zane stared down at her angry expression, then at Chazz's glare of pure hatred. He started to close the door, but Alexis put her foot in it.

"Oh, no, you don't, Zane Truesdale," She snapped, "We're here to put you to justice. You and Mr. Shroud, that is. Where is that little devil?"

Zane glowered at her. "How should I know?" Once more, he tried to shut the door, only this time, he tried to shut it on her foot.

Grimacing in pain, she ordered, "Well, then, find him! You must know something about his whereabouts."

Zane growled and mumbled something, but stepped out into the hallway. "What do you want?"

"Well, I want to duel Shroud. And Chazz wants to duel you." Alexis answered, her eyes narrowing.

Zane looked from one to the other, then with a mere wave of his hand, dismissed the matter and began to walk away. It did not look as though he were interested in dueling either one of them.

"Hey, come back here!" Alexis yelled, running to catch up to him. "How cowardly are you? When someone challenges you, you won't even accept it? What kind of duelist are you?"

Zane's gaze dropped down to her level. A small, cold smirk flickered at the corner of his mouth. Then, he told her, "What need is there to duel when I already know the outcome?"

"No, you don't!" Alexis insisted.

"Yes, I do. This is Chazz we're talking about. I will have nothing to do with him. He's a disgrace to all the Obelisks. He can't even beat Jaden." Zane mused.

"But, you said yourself that Jaden was good," Alexis said in confusion, "So why do you pick on Chazz?"

"Listen, Alexis, he and I haven't exactly had a pleasant past. I would like to put that behind us. I don't want to talk to him. And I certainly don't want to duel him." Zane muttered, pointing a finger at her.

"Why? Did he hand you defeat on a silver platter?" She jeered, "Nice going. That's a real man's way of handling it."

"If Chazz is such a man," Zane asked, turning his back to them, "Then why are you doing all the petitioning for him?"

When Alexis refused to respond, Zane began to walk away. Chazz, however, lunged forward and grasped his shoulder. He would not let the older teen escape.

Zane turned and sent Chazz a contemptuous glare from slitted teal eyes. It did not intimidate the youngest Princeton in the least. Instead, Chazz returned his glare.

"Fine. I'll duel you," Zane growled.

"And what about Shroud?" Alexis asked bitterly, "I won't let Chazz start the duel until we find him." She grabbed Chazz by the shoulders, digging her nails into him and glaring at Zane.

Zane sighed heavily and cursed beneath his breath as he motioned for them to follow him. Wordlessly, they walked down the corridor, feeling a bit anxious. Seeing that Zane's back was to them, Chazz discreetly reached for Alexis' hand. She took it and squeezed it, reassuring him. He offered her a weak smile, then frowned again.

Meanwhile, Zane had stopped at a closet door. He opened it, then pulled out a ladder, which he propped against the wall. He climbed a few rungs before tapping on the ceiling and opening a trap door. His body disappeared through the hole.

Chazz and Alexis stared up at the ceiling as they heard several thumps and bangs from above. Finally, there was silence and Zane reappeared with a piece of paper. Ignoring the other two teens, he shut the trap door, put the ladder aside, and walked away. Chazz and Alexis had no choice but to follow.

As it turned out, they didn't need to go very far. As soon as they stepped out of the dorm, there was a gunshot from the bushes. Instead of allowing it, Zane quickly shielded them with his own body, and shoved them aside.

"Come out now," Zane growled, "Gig's up, Shroud. I don't want you taking them out. You've already done enough. It's my duty to deal with them, and you're encroaching on my territory."

Mr. Shroud was not reluctant about revealing himself. Nor was he ashamed of his wicked deeds. He merely stepped out of the bushes, smirking at Zane. "Well, looks as though you finally came back, Mr. Truesdale. I knew I'd get your attention this way."

"Look, Alexis here wants to duel you…"

"Duel me? Girl, do you know what you're messing with?" He asked, frowning at her. "Well, no matter. If it's a duel you want, sweetheart, then it's a duel you'll get. And a mighty rough one, too."

Alexis stiffened and nodded. "I can take you any day."

"Very well."

Alexis pulled her duel disk out of her backpack, and Chazz pulled his out of his backpack. Then, she stood with her back pressed against Chazz's for security. It would be safer this way, them dueling back-to-back. She braced herself for the first move.

"Get ready for quite a game." Mr. Shroud told her, "Because this just isn't any duel." He held up a medallion, causing her to gasp.

"Wh-what's that?"

"A replication of a Millennium item." Mr. Shroud answered simply.

"So this is a Shadow game?" Alexis asked, her eyes widening.

He nodded, paying no attention to her obvious discomfort. "I'll go first since I'm older," Mr. Shroud smirked. He drew a card, then announced, "I play Cannon Soldier in attack mode (1400)!" A purple and green monster with scissor like claws appeared on the field. Then, he slapped another card down. "Now I lay a face down and end my turn. Your move, Alexis." He smirked at her.

Warily, she drew and narrowed her eyes at the man in front of her. "Well, I guess that you might have had a plan up until now. I play Polymerization to fuse the Blade Skater and Etoile Cyber in my hand to create Cyber Blader (2100)!" A slim, lithe girl with long ebony hair appeared on the field, balancing on the tip-toes of her ice skates.

Mr. Shroud suddenly laughed. "Right into my trap! I activate Curse of Darkness. This card makes it so that every time one of us plays a spell card, the controller of that card takes 1000 points of damage."

Alexis clenched her teeth as her life points dropped to 3000. She winced, yet remained calm even though the pain was almost unbearable. Hunching over a bit, she pressed her back closer to Chazz's and suppressed a gasp as she watched her legs disappear up to her knees, as well as part of her arms.

"That's not going to stop my attack though. Cyber Blader, attack his Cannon Soldier!" She watched as the monster twirled gracefully towards Cannon Soldier, then landed a sharp blow to it, causing it to explode. Mr. Shroud's life points dropped to 3300. "I end my turn."

Mr. Shroud shook his head in disgust, hardly noticing his own pain. Part of his legs vanished, sending chills up and down Alexis' spine. "Are you surprised?"

"Well," She shifted her weight uncomfortably, "I certainly didn't think that you, being a manager, would do such a thing."

"It's not as uncommon as you believe," He told her, "But I'm not just any manager, remember. I'm the Underground duelists' manager. And I hope you understand what you're up against. Underground dueling is connected with the Shadow games! Why else do you think Zane would have been taken by the notion so quickly?"

"Zane would not want to do such a disgraceful thing!" She protested vehemently. "How dare you! He's a respectable person and I care about him greatly. I've known him for a long time, and I know he'd never join in with something as foolish as Shadow games."

"That's not the point," Mr. Shroud laughed, "No matter how wise one is, he cannot resist the shadows! It's sort of like brainwashing in a sense…"

"You did WHAT to him?!" Alexis bristled angrily. "Oh, I'm definitely going to beat you now."

"No, you won't, little girl," He said, frowning, "Because now that you know my secret, I can't let you get away that easily."

"But why kill the faculty here?" She asked indignantly, "They never did you any harm."

"Oh, but, Alexis, you must think of the future. They were a clear and imminent danger to me. Eventually, they would have hindered my cause and stopped me from reaping in the benefits of my hard work. Not to mention the faculty here has a vast knowledge of Shadow games." He explained.

Alexis opened her mouth, then shut it. Reached around, she gripped Chazz's arm gently, then released it when he gave her a reassuring glance over his shoulder.

"Nothing's going to happen to you…"

Taking a deep breath, she turned back towards Mr. Shroud, to face him and her fears.

"Now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to continue with my turn," Mr. Shroud told her, drawing. "I place two face downs before I summon Opticlops (1800) in attack mode." A muscular, one-eyed creature with a golden horn projecting from its forehead emerged onto the field. "Now I end my turn."

Alexis drew a card, smirking a little as she laughed softly to herself, growing in confidence. "Why attack mode? Is this some sort of trap set up for me? Well, I'll happily oblige because I'm not afraid of what you can do to me. Cyber Blader, attack!"

Mr. Shroud waved his hand, revealing his trap. "I play Bark of Dark Ruler! When I have a fiend monster attack or attacked, I can pay life points in multiples of 100 and reduce the attack points of that monster by that number. So, I sacrifice 800 life points."

Alexis frowned as she watched her Cyber Blader's attack points go down to 1300. Then, she grimaced as her attack went through and as her life points were reduced to 2500.

Mr. Shroud looked surprised. "Why wasn't Cyber Blader destroyed?" He demanded to know.

"Because of her special ability." Alexis answered simply. "Now, I think I'll just lay two face downs and end my turn."

"Very well." Mr. Shroud drew a card, then said, "I lay a face down and end my turn."

Alexis arched an eyebrow skeptically. "Not even going to change your monster's position? Oh, whatever. Well, I think first I'll play my face down Mystical Space Typhoon and destroy your face down." Mr. Shroud growled menacingly at her as his Mirror Force was destroyed. Alexis just watched in satisfaction as the card burst into fragments. "Now, Cyber Blader, attack Opticlops!"

"You've forgotten," Mr. Shroud reminded her, "Because you played a spell card, Curse of Darkness activates and you take 1000 points of direct damage."

"I don't think so," Alexis countered, "I play Hallowed Life Barrier, so I take no damage from my opponent this turn if I discard a card. And now, I continue my attack."

Mr. Shroud glared at her as Opticlops burst into fragments. His life points dropped to 3000, and more of his arms disappeared. "Lucky move," He growled.

"Now I lay a face down and end my turn."

"About time," Mr. Shroud mumbled, "I place a face down. Next, I play Possessed Dark Soul in defense mode (1200)." A red flaming monster materialized in front of him, with its arms crossed over its chest, its eyes glowing an otherworldly green. "I end my turn."

"Good." Alexis drew, then frowned in deep thought. "I play Fusion Weapon. This equip spell allows me to increase Cyber Blader's attack points by 1500." She watched as her monster's hand grew.

"You played yet another spell knowing that you'd take 1000 more points of damage?" He scoffed, "How stupid are you?"

"I have my reasons," She growled in a dangerously low tone, "And I'm willing to sacrifice my points for my monster's sake." Nevertheless, she let out a little cry as her life points dropped to 1500 and part of her body vanished. She would not show her full fear, however. He did not have that much control over her. And she was determined to defeat him as well as his psychological games.

"And it all avails to nothing anyway," He told her, shaking his head, "Because I play the Emperor's Holiday, which allows me to negate the effects of equip cards."

She gasped as her Cyber Blader's attack points dropped back down to normal. "Well, no matter," She muttered, quickly composing herself. "I'm still attacking. And now, I activate Meteorain, which allows me to inflict battle damage between the difference of your monster's defense points and my monster's attack points."

Mr. Shroud cursed under his breath as his life points dropped to 1700 and part of his torso faded away into mist.

With a satisfied smirk, she told him, "My turn is over."

Growling, he drew. "I play Twin-Headed Wolf in attack mode (1500). Now, I lay a face down and end my turn."

Alexis looked at the snarling two-headed beast on his side of the field, bemused. "Not really trying anymore, are you?"

"What do you mean?" Mr. Shroud snapped, "Your defeat is near. And soon, you will enter hell!"

"I don't think so," Alexis told him, drawing. "First, I play Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two more cards. Next, I summon Cyber Tutu in attack mode." A small pink haired girl in a blue, ruffled skirt and pink ballet flats twirled onto the field. "But she won't be around for long, because I play Enemy Controller! Now, by tributing my Cyber Tutu, I can take control of Twin-Headed Wolf, taking you defense out."

"But now Curse of Darkness activates," He reminded her, snickering, "And you take another 1000 points of damage. Don't you see you're going to lose, no matter how many monsters you have? It's best to use monsters as bait, to lure your opponent into a trap."

"How deceitful," Alexis observed, although she was bent over in pain as her life points dropped to 500 and her body completely faded, "and people like you will meet their doom eventually. Your deceit is your downfall." She scowled at him as her Cyber Tutu disappeared in a green light and was replaced by Twin-Headed Wolf. "Now, Cyber Blader, attack his life points directly!"

"No, you can't!" He shouted angrily, "you can't get rid of me!"

She watched his life points drop to 0 coldly. "I don't care. You deserve it more than you can imagine. After what you did to my best friend…and all those people…"

"And your brother!" Mr. Shroud hissed, trying to inflict as much pain on her even in his last moments, "I was the one to give him his heart condition. I was the one who led him on his path of darkness and defeat! You can thank me for being the end of him. For I will not go to hell alone! I'll take him with me!"

Her eyes widened. "You would do no such thing!" She shouted, pointing at him, "I'll kill you first." Her amber eyes flashed murderously.

Mr. Shroud only laughed wickedly as his life crept out of him. With a final heave of contempt, he dropped to the ground, completely lifeless. Heart pounding, she de-activated her duel disk and rushed over to him. Tentatively, she reached down to feel for a pulse. There was none. Beginning to shake, she collapsed to the ground, her tears coming faster.

* * *

At the same time that Alexis and Mr. Shroud began their duel, Zane and Chazz began theirs. They shuffled each others' decks, then Zane snapped on metal bands around his neck and his forearms, then snapped a few around Chazz's neck and forearms as well.

"What are these?" Chazz asked, glaring at his opponent.

"It's how I duel," Zane answered, "And I refuse to duel without them."

Looking over at his shoulder at Alexis, Chazz's eyes softened. He would do anything for her, he decided. He would go through with it no matter what. After all, he had promised her he'd beat Zane and he'd protect her. And if this was the only way to do that, he'd sacrifice anything and everything, even his very life.

Chazz drew first, then muttered, "I play Chthonian Solider in attack mode (1200). Then I end my turn."

Zane raised an eyebrow at the lone monster, which wielded a sword quite harmlessly. "That's all? You usually start off with a super long turn. Your loss, I guess. I summon Cyber Dragon in attack mode (2100)!" A long, slender metallic dragon materialized in front of Zane.

Chazz clenched his jaw. "How? Special ability?"

Zane nodded. "If you have a monster on your side of the field and there is none on mine, I'm allowed to summon him without making a sacrifice. Now, Cyber Dragon, attack Chthonian Soldier!"

Chazz glared at Zane, hoping to intimidate him. However, the look that Zane returned was so horribly indifferent and murderous, that it sent chills up and down Chazz's spine. He swallowed hard as he watched his monster shatter into little pieces. That was when the electric shock first hit him.

He screamed in pain as a violent bolt of fiery agony stabbed at his spine and as his life points dropped to 3100. Panting, he dropped to his knees and raised his head to glower at Zane, his whole body trembling. "At least…" He gasped, "You take the same amount of damage I do after Chthonian Soldier is destroyed."

Zane stood stone still as the sword flew down from the air and shot through his middle. Even when the electrode shocked him, he still remained unfazed as his life points dropped to 3100. "Now that that's over with, I play Different Dimension Capsule so I can remove a card from my deck from play." He held his deck out and looked through it, then placed a card in the floating capsule. "On the second standby phase after this is played, it comes back to my hand. I end my turn."

Chazz wiped a bead of sweat from his brow and drew. After a brief scan of his hand, he placed a card on his disk. "I play Reborn Zombie in defense mode (1000)!" A decrepit, bony monster appeared, with rags draped around it. "I lay a face down. Now, my turn ends."

Zane did not crack a smile. He seemed unimpressed though. "How pathetic," He muttered, "I summon Cyber Kirin in defense mode (300)." A spiky, four legged metallic monster with a mace as a tail appeared next to Cyber Dragon.

Chazz's eyes widened. Even though the monster might have seemed trivial to the casual onlooker, Chazz knew what it meant. Zane was planning to sacrifice in order to summon another Cyber Dragon. Maybe that was the case. Already, he had a quarter of his formula for Cyber End Dragon complete. And who knew what he'd put in the capsule. All Chazz knew was that he couldn't let Zane summon his Cyber End Dragon, no matter what. If Zane did, then he was as good as dead.

However, there wasn't much Chazz could do at the moment. He was hoping to summon a certain monster from his hand, and he needed to protect his monsters now at all cost. That monster was his key out of this mess. And he couldn't worry about Cyber Kirin for now. It could be some sort of trap.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he turned his attention back to Zane.

"Now, Cyber Dragon, attack Reborn Zombie!"

Chazz swallowed hard, his adrenaline kicking in and bringing things out of slow motion. As Reborn Zombie was destroyed, he waved his hand to reveal his face down. "The Grave of Enkindling! This card allows me to bring Reborn Zombie back to the field."

Looking irritated, Zane averted his gaze and ended his turn.

Licking his lips nervously, Chazz drew. He looked down to see his hands shaking. Why was he so upset all of the sudden, when he'd been so confident before? He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to clear his head of his fear so he could think straight. It was difficult, however, when Zane was giving him such a cold look—one that meant that he was going to kill Chazz.

"I sacrifice Reborn Zombie," Chazz muttered, "To summon Helpoemer in attack mode (2000)." A faceless, green monster covered in gaping mouths appeared on the field. "Now, I place a face down and end my turn."

Zane said nothing momentarily. Then, he murmured, "You idiot. Nothing you can do can stop me. As for the time being, I get the card that I removed from play added back to my hand. Then, I sacrifice Cyber Kirin to summon another Cyber Dragon to the field." Chazz watched as another metallic dragon identical to the first materialized on the field. "Now, Cyber Dragon, attack Helpoemer!"

Quickly, Chazz reacted. "I activate Negate Attack!" As the wind blew Cyber Dragon away, Chazz's breathing returned to normal. He could protect his monster long enough. Of this much he was sure. Too bad Zane had him on a run for his life.

Narrowing his eyes into wicked slits, Zane spat that his turn was over. As his eyes bored holes into Chazz's skull, he waited, and dared Chazz to make his next move.

Taking a deep breath and regaining some confidence, Chazz drew his card. Then, he said, "I sacrifice Helpoemer and ditch my entire hand so I can summon Infernal Incinerator in attack mode (2800)!" A sense of tremendous relief washed over him at seeing the large, spiked burgundy monster appeared in front of him, shielding him from Zane's Cyber Dragons. "And, now his special ability activates. For every monster on your side of the field, Infernal Incinerator gains 200 attack points. Since you have two monsters, its attack goes up to 3200! Now, Infernal Incinerator, attack Zane's Cyber Dragon."

Zane clenched his fists into tight balls as Cyber Dragon was turned into dust. As he was electrocuted, he shuddered slightly, yet his face remained emotionless as his life points dropped to 2000. Chazz glanced up at his monster as its attack points went down to 3000. However, his renewed confidence stayed strong.

"Well, now that that's over with," Zane muttered, drawing. His teal eyes ran over the cards, then lifted to stare icily at Chazz, who tried his best not to grimace at the look. "First, I play Trap Booster from my hand so I can play a trap from my hand. Next, I play Call of the Haunted to bring my Cyber Dragon back to the field." Chazz's shoulders slumped a bit in dismay as the large silver dragon reappeared next to its counterpart. "Then, I summon Proto-Cyber Dragon (1100) in attack mode and lay two face downs." A dull, smaller version of Cyber Dragon appeared next to the other two. "I end my turn."

Puzzled, Chazz drew. Why had Zane not tried to merge them yet? Wasn't Proto-Cyber Dragon to be treated the same as Cyber Dragon? Couldn't he make Cyber End Dragon yet? Something was fishy in the way that Zane was playing. He was behaving erratically…he wasn't himself. Perhaps the electric shocks were impairing his thought process. Nonetheless, Chazz was grateful that Zane had not created Cyber Dragon yet. Unless…Zane was testing him and trying to figure out Chazz's deck and how he played. And perhaps that face down was the key to his plan…maybe it was all psychological. Chazz just didn't know; but he refused to take a chance, especially with Alexis' life at stake.

And, just as he was about to begin his main phase, he saw that Zane's trap had activated. His eyes narrowed.

"I play Nightmare Wheel." Zane said calmly, "And as long as this card remains face up, you can't attack or change battle position. As an added bonus, for each of my standby phases that this card remains in play, you take 500 points of damage to your life points."

Chazz curled his lip in a slight snarl. Then, he continued his turn, angry that Zane had trapped him. "I play Pot of Greed. Then, I draw two cards and lay a face down. My turn ends."

"Very well," Zane muttered, drawing, "And now, due to Nightmare Wheel, you take damage."

Chazz bit back a scream as pain penetrated his lower back. His life points dropped to 2600. Momentarily, he swayed on his feet, about to fall. However, feeling Alexis' sturdy back against his, he regained his strength and caught himself, a newly kindled fire burning inside him.

"Now, I summon Cyber Phoenix in attack mode (1200)." A large metallic bird with bright orange tipped wings appeared floating in the air. "Then, I play Power Bond—"

"Not so fast!" Chazz snapped, waving his hand. "I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Power Bond."

Zane wrinkled his nose a bit, peeved, and ended his turn.

Relieved that he'd halted Zane's attempt, Chazz drew. "I lay a card in face down defense and end my turn." His confidence boosted a little more, as he felt as though his plan was a good one. However, one glance at Zane's angry face was enough to send fear into his heart once again. That look was one that psychopaths had…

Zane drew his card. Chazz doubled over as his life points dropped once more to 2100. The pain was absolutely astounding.

"I play Polymerization," Zane told Chazz, "To fuse my two Cyber Dragons to form Cyber Twin Dragon (2800)." A two-headed version of Cyber Dragon appeared on the field. Chazz wondered why he hadn't fused Proto-Cyber Dragon as well, but he supposed there was a reason. Zane continued. "I attack your face down card."

As Magician of Faith was revealed to them, Chazz said, "I activate its flip effect. Now, I can bring a spell card back from the graveyard to my hand."

Zane raised an eyebrow, however, he did not question Chazz; he only ended his turn.

Swallowing hard and biting his lip in slight agitation, Chazz drew his card and then told Zane, "I'm sick of that Nightmare Wheel. I activate Mystical Space Typhoon from my hand and destroy it. Now, I can attack! Infernal Incinerator, attack Zane's Cyber Twin Dragon! And since you have three monsters out, Infernal Incinerator's attack points go up to 3400."

Zane scowled as his monster was destroyed and his life points went down to 1600. Then, he snapped, "You fool! Just as I suspected. You could've ended the duel, but instead you had to take out my Cyber Twin Dragon."

"I know you," Chazz gasped, "And I know you're playing mind games with me. There's no way I'm going to give you a chance to bring out your Cyber End Dragon. And I know you have some sort of plan, some scheme to do so."

"Well thought out," Zane told him, "But not well enough. By next turn, you will be completely obliterated."

Chazz's confidence sunk to an all time low. His hand shook over his cards. No, he did not trust himself enough. If he waited, then he would lose. But if he played that card now…Shaking his head, he tried to think about what he should do. As he glanced over his shoulder at Alexis, he remembered his promise to her. If he couldn't win, at least he could end it in a draw. He had to keep Zane from winning no matter what. After all, if Zane won, Alexis would most likely die. He had to do what was best for her.

"I place a face down and end my turn." He stood, shaking slightly and realizing that there was no going back now.

Zane drew his card, his teal eyes staring straight at Chazz. Before he could make another move, Chazz squeezed his eyes shut and activated his trap, too frightened by Zane's eyes and threat to think straight.

"I play Ring of Destruction!" He exclaimed, his eyes still shut.

"Coward," Zane seethed, "You dirty, rotten coward. You're too afraid to be a real man about this and carry through. Giving up so soon? You're more of a loser than I thought."

Although it bothered him, he continued with his move. "I attach Ring of Destruction to Infernal Incinerator," He said, swallowing hard, "So we both take damage to our life points equal to its attack points."

"Just like a Princeton," Zane spat as his eyes darkened.

Chazz froze, unable to comprehend the insult. It was something that brought his brothers to mind…his brothers never believed he was worth anything. Perhaps they were right. He had failed and let everyone down—all the victims, himself, and worst of all, Alexis. He screamed in sheer agony as a sharp bolt of electricity ripped through his insides. His life points dropped to 0.

Zane remained standing as he was shocked violently and as his life points decreased to 0 as well. He turned, and said over his shoulder, "You may think that this was a draw, but we both know who the loser is. If I hadn't been testing you, you would've lost a long time ago. I refuse to win until you're worthy of my time. Until you improve…if that's possible." Having said this, he stormed off, leaving Chazz lying on the ground shuddering in pain and stunned.

Alexis rose to her feet, having witnessed Chazz's fall. She hurried over and knelt by him, concerned. Tentatively, she laid her hand on his cheek, and stroked his face gently.

"Are you Ok?"

He managed to prop himself up, wincing at the movement. "I'm sorry…I failed…" He hung his head in shame.

"No, Chazz; it's all right. It doesn't matter. All that matters is that you're still alive." She assured him.

He glowered at her. "No, what matters is that I didn't beat him. I was such a loser out there! I'm so ashamed…"

"You have nothing to be ashamed of," She protested, "You dueled your best."

"But I got scared and threw the towel in…Let's face it, I sucked! I wasn't a man at all. How can I protect you anymore?" He sighed heavily. "Ah, forget it. I got what I deserved I guess."

She frowned and jerked him up to his feet. "Stop whining." She commanded, "I won't have you rolling in self pity just because you didn't win. I was impressed…until you started this crap. You held your own to Zane…now that's pretty good if you ask me."

"He was testing me," Chazz told her, "It wasn't his best. He just wanted to see what I could do."

"Still," She murmured, giving his arm a little tug. "Come on, now. Let's go back."

He sighed and glanced over at Mr. Shroud, who was still lying face down on the ground. "You did well, Lex. I'm really proud of you." He gave her a quick hug, then pulled away to look her in her eyes, "You won your battle…because you didn't let your emotions get to you. Perhaps I should learn from you."

She laughed softly and kissed him on the cheek, causing him to blush. "You'll figure it out, Ok? Don't beat yourself up. Now, come on. We might as well tell the Chancellor that Mr. Shroud is dead, and just go back to our room. 'K?"

He nodded and reluctantly followed her back down the path towards the school. Mr. Shroud may have been defeated, but they had a clearly more dangerous threat—Zane. Not to mention the fact that an organization much bigger and much more hazardous loomed behind Shroud. If they wanted to survive, they'd have to work harder to find out what was truly going on. And if he wanted to keep Alexis and protect her, then he'd have to change his attitude, and soon.

* * *

**A/N: AH! It was so much dueling…I'm really sorry. : ( I tried not to make it so long but…it really showed how their characters were reacting to the situation and stress so, if you didn't read it, SHAME ON YOU. I worked for 3 fucking hours putting that together…it was necessary due to the plot. If you don't understand now, you will later. **

**Next time: Chazz feels as though he's growing out of touch with Alexis. Feeling insignificant, he begins to wonder if he's going insane, especially when he starts to hear and see strange things outside. Does his past with Zane have something to do with it? Plus, Alexis wonders if Chazz is losing interest and goes to extreme measure to find out what she should do.**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Aw, shit. I forgot what I was going to do. I read my last note to myself but…I don't get it anymore. School has really fried my brains. Maybe I'll remember as I write it. : ( Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to my loveliest Whoompah because she deserves it. And sorry last chapter was SO boring (I know you guys were like BLEH over it.)**

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Disclaimer: I do not own GX.

* * *

Chapter 19:

The room was dark, and strangely quiet. The blinds were tightly shut, so no light from the full moon could seep through them. Outside, the wind blew about furiously, and the breakers could be heard crashing heavily on the beach. A storm was coming, and it was a strong one, too.

Chazz sat on the couch, his knees pulled up to his chest, his onyx eyes darting around the dark room. Swallowing hard, he gripped the knife in his left hand tighter, and tried to steady his rapid breathing. His paranoia was overtaking him again. But didn't he have a reason to believe he was in danger? Perhaps the whole deal with Zane had gotten to him. However true that might be, though, it seemed to be a petty explanation for the types of phenomenon he'd been coming in contact with. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to block out the eerie moans of the wind creeping through the corridors. Was it even real?

Still shaking, he wiped the sweat from his brow and rose to his feet to pace about the room. Every now and then, the dorm would creak, causing him to whirl around, wielding the knife, ready to attack. No one was there. Sighing heavily and swallowing hard, he managed to gather the courage to peer out the window. The trees were being whipped about, their gnarled branches reaching menacingly towards him. He quickly shook the image from his mind. Once he'd refocused his eyes, he scanned the horizon as best as he could. Afar off, he could see a small section of the beach. He watched as the lighthouse beacon made its rounds, illuminating small areas of the island. That was when he saw it: a dark, shadowy figure skulking around the shoreline. He froze as another figure met the first one. It seemed as though they were conversing. His breath caught in his throat.

And then, just like that, a sudden gust of wind seemed to blow them away. Quickly, he dropped the curtain and stepped away from the window. Taking a deep breath, he told himself to put the knife down and relax. It could just all be a dream. Yes, that must be it. He was merely dreaming and it would all go away if he just didn't think about it. Perhaps if he pinched himself, he'd come back to reality.

But sadly enough, the pinch did nothing to wake him of the horror he was experiencing internally. Something was simply driving him out of his mind. Some sort of nervous anxiety had caught hold of him, and refused to let him go. And it was making him crazy. Why else would he be seeing silhouettes disappear like that? There was no logical explanation for it. It just had to be in his head.

Biting his lip, he paced the room like a caged tiger. The air was heavy, tense. He felt as though he could not sleep. If he did, he might be killed. But how could he guarantee that the killer wasn't watching him already? That he wasn't aiming the gun? That he wasn't in the room? This last part really bothered the raven haired boy. He crept over to the closet and, with a pounding heart, flung the door open, only to find nothing out of the ordinary. Shaking, he backed away, then flung the bathroom door open. Still nothing. He paced again.

It surprised him that his constant movement and heavy breathing had not woken Alexis. Surely, she slept like the dead. It seemed as though nothing could awake her. However, he somewhat wished she would wake up so she could get his mind off of the whole matter. On the other hand, perhaps it was a good thing that she was still asleep. The last thing he needed was to reveal the half of him that was freaking out to her. He had to try to be calm and strong for her. So far, she'd been so much for him. Well, as best as she could be in the situation. And considering the circumstances, she was doing quite well indeed. He was surprised that she hadn't gone over the deep end yet. Like he was. He was going insane from the intense pressure and responsibility, and he knew it.

Of course, he'd always been considered a bit odd in the eyes of others, maybe even a bit insane, but never so much that actual medication was necessary. Well, perhaps a prescription or two in the past, and perhaps a few visits to the friendly family psychologist, but nothing beyond that. At least he'd yet to be admitted to the mental ward. But with all the things going on, he was sure that he would be carried away in a straightjacket soon enough. Now, more than ever, he wished Alexis would wake up and console him. He needed to be assured that what he was experiencing was normal. He couldn't be crazy. There was no way he'd be put on medication again. It had all been a misunderstanding the first time anyway.

In his opinion, most of those mental diseases were made up anyway. He viewed them as natural quirks of the human mind. Try telling that to a psychiatrist. He had just been given another medication for that too. Or at least, that's what it seemed like. Common sense, apparently, was an ailment as well. If only he'd listened to his parents. If only he hadn't acted out as much as he had as a child. Now he was still suffering from the side effects. Either that or he was schizophrenic.

He quickly pushed the thoughts from his mind and tried desperately to dwell on something else. Instead, he just came back to the duel with Zane. How he hated to see Zane so messed up. Sometimes, he thought it was his fault for what had happened between them. Sometimes, he wondered if he had been the reason for the rift in their friendship. But that was so long ago. And Zane didn't want to ever remember that again. That's why he didn't talk to him, after all.

But if that was the reason, then Zane was more immature than Chazz could've thought. They'd only been pre-teens! How could he possibly hold a grudge over such a minute situation? Or perhaps the sheer humiliation of it kept him from trying to rekindle anything they'd had. It wasn't like words like those could be forgotten easily. And what if Zane still meant what he'd said? Perhaps that's why things had been so awkward. Chazz only wished he could've been gentler and more mature about his response.

Closing his eyes, he felt himself drifting back to the day that he and Zane had stopped talking. He could still smell the hot, sticky air and the morning dew on the grass that was characteristic of lazy summer days. He could just see the gray concrete beneath his feet as he walked to the arcade, where he often had spent his days as a kid. And that's when he saw Zane, waiting for him as usual. The two had never been the best of friends, but they were good friends nonetheless. They didn't really have anyone else in town to talk to, so they spent their time together, either dueling or playing video games or just sitting on the grass and staring at the sky. Most often, they didn't say anything to each other. They just kept each other company. And it had been that way for several years.

Until that day. That had been the day that Zane had ruined everything.

He remembered Zane slinging an arm around his shoulders and grunting that they should take a walk instead. Even though he'd been confused, he'd complied with it. For awhile, they just walked around the city, then to the park, neither saying anything. Finally, Zane deemed the time to be right, and sat on the edge of the fountain with him, throwing tiny pebbles into the water and watching the ripples move outward. Chazz found his behavior to be curious, but not quite uncharacteristic of his personality. He was known to be contemplative like this. But there was some sort of nervous energy that made Chazz greatly uneasy around the boy.

"Chazz…" When he spoke, his voice was quieter than usual. His tone was indistinguishable; Chazz couldn't tell how he was feeling. "Have you ever felt…like you were close enough to someone that you could share anything with them?"

Chazz swallowed hard and nodded, uncertain of why Zane had asked such a strange question.

The other boy didn't respond for a moment, only threw another pebble into the fountain and stared as his reflection was replaced by a splash. "It's funny that such a small thing can cause such a great effect…"

Raising an eyebrow, Chazz wondered if Zane was feeling all right. He wondered if something bad had happened to him. He grasped the other boy by the shoulders, and looked him straight in his teal eyes. "What's wrong?"

Zane stared back, his gaze steady and even. The two boys stared each other down for awhile, neither moving, neither saying a word. They might have been mistaken as statues, had the breeze not played gently with their hair.

Zane shifted uncomfortably, and finally replied. "I can share anything with you, right?"

Chazz nodded, frowning. Of course Zane could! They'd only been friends since the middle of duel prep school. Why would Zane believe that he couldn't trust him?

Looking down at his hands, Zane asked in the same quiet, calm tone, "Even if it's my life?"

Chazz hesitated. What did he mean by that? It was the weirdest question that Zane had asked yet. But, nevertheless, he just nodded slowly.

"I don't think you quite understand," Zane explained, "This isn't just anything I'm asking of you. I really need you to have my back on this…"

Chazz's eyes widened. He asked in a low voice, almost breathless, "Did you do something bad? Like commit a murder or something?"

Zane shook his head, looking a bit taken aback. "Why would you think I'd do something like that?"

Chazz shrugged. "You just seemed like it. The way you're acting…it's so…different…Well, if it wasn't a murder, then just spill. Out with it."

Gripping the stone ledge until his knuckles turned white, Zane took a deep breath. "This isn't easy for me to say but…Chazz…I think…I love you…"

Chazz's charcoal eyes widened as the other boy leaned over and tried to kiss him. It came as such a shock to him, he fell backwards into the fountain. Although he was embarrassed about falling in, he wasn't nearly as embarrassed over that as Zane was over the near kiss.

Chazz tried to tell him that he wasn't into guys but…the words just wouldn't come out the way he wanted them to. He sounded far too…cruel. "Uh…Zane, I've known you for a long time but…are you sure about this? I mean, it's kind of gross because we're both guys. Maybe you should see a counselor or something. Because I'm pretty sure this isn't normal…Seriously, I'm not into guys. I like you, but only as a friend. The Chazz does NOT do guys. It's just…ew." He grimaced and made a face. "Aren't you a little young to be into that kind of stuff anyway?"

He shuddered and tried to shake the memory of the broken hearted look in Zane's eyes. He tried not to remember the way Zane had glared at him, telling him he was a jerk, and hurried off, not even bothering to turn around and look at him. More than anything, he did not want to think of the tears that the other boy tried to conceal. He hated to think about it. He hated to think about the damage he'd done. And how he'd ruined a perfectly good friendship. It wasn't like he hadn't tried to apologize. Zane had just been too upset to ever talk to him again. Perhaps it was partially his fault that Zane was so messed up now.

Deep inside, though, he doubted Zane was actually gay. After all, sometimes, pre-teens and teens went through phases. And Zane seemed to like Alexis the year after that. So maybe Chazz's outburst had snapped him out of it. Or perhaps Zane was using Alexis to cover up the pain over losing him. He tried desperately not to think that this might be the case. Whatever the problem was, Zane was messed up, and it was partially his fault. Guilt overwhelmed him. He shouldn't have been so harsh.

Gazing over at Alexis, he sighed and seated himself back on the couch. Part of him wondered if the whole impasse they were in was all in his head. He didn't know how much of it was real. He squirmed in apprehension, until he simply could not stand it anymore. He crawled up on the bed, next to Alexis and shook her gently. At first, she only stirred a little, and swatted his hand away. Desperate, he shook her roughly. This not only woke her up, but it also scared her.

Her eyes shot open and she pulled back a fist to punch whoever the 'intruder' was. Thankfully, his reflexes reacted in time for him to catch her hand. She looked up at him, confused.

"Chazz?"

"Can I talk to you?" He asked, biting his lip, "I really need you to listen to me."

She sat up, stretching a bit. "Of course. If it's really that important."

He leaned back against the headboard and sighed heavily. "I think I'm losing it…"

"What do you mean?" She asked, blinking in confusion.

He hesitated momentarily, wondering if he could trust her. Finally, unable to stand the pressure, he told her everything about his past with medication and Zane and about what he thought he'd seen outside. She listened carefully, her eyes widening the more he said. Part of him wanted to stop, but he found himself unable to.

"Please don't let me go," He begged, once he'd finished, "I really can't do this alone…I don't know how much more I can take. Please don't get scared."

She put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. "It's Ok, babe. I'm not going to leave you. I'm right here; you don't have to worry. We're going to get through this together, Ok?" She nuzzled his neck, and left her face in his shoulder, breathing in his scent.

He swallowed hard and tried to control his trembling. "I'm sorry I'm crazy…" He laughed nervously, "I really tried to keep it under control."

"It's not like you could help it," She assured him, rubbing his back, "It's all right. Just take some sleeping pills and come back to bed. You'll be all right."

He shook his head. "The nightmares are too much…"

She cocked her head to one side, raising an eyebrow. "Nightmares? You never mentioned anything about this before…"

He hung his head. "Well, the thing is, um…I can't ever sleep without having at least one nightmare. Sometimes it's not that bad…but lately, it seems worse than usual. It seems like a foretelling…"

She cupped his cheek in the palm of her hand, fondling it, and stared him straight in the eyes. "Shh. Relax. You're all right. I'm here, and nothing bad is going to happen to you. As for the foretelling…that's ridiculous. You know that it's nothing but a dream."

"But sometimes dreams can mean things!" He insisted, "So it's not like I can easily ignore them."

"Calm down," She told him, rubbing his back as he began to pant, "Just take the sleeping pills and lie down."

Gulping, he finally nodded, agreeing to it. He didn't really want to take the pills; he hated taking any sort of medicine. But he did it for her sake. He quickly swallowed a few and lay down next to her. She pulled the covers up over them, petted his hair and kissed his cheek, then wrapped her arms around his waist and curled up against his body. He felt a little better feeling her pressed against his back, however, he was still nervous. Although he was upset, the pills kicked in not that much longer later, and he was temporarily relieved of his agonizing state of mind.

* * *

Alexis wandered into the empty classroom to put her things down. She looked around, wishing there was someone she could talk to. Although she had acted calm the night before, she was worried about Chazz. He hadn't been acting right. And she began to doubt that he could protect her. He was, indeed, losing his mind. And she didn't like it. However, at the same time, she wished she could be there for him. She hated to think that she would leave him. She wanted to stay with him and protect him forever. It seemed, though, that in this situation, she was unable to take care of him. And that's why she needed someone to confide in. She needed help.

Looking around the classroom and finally giving up, she began to walk out. She let her eyes drop to her feet, and stared at the floor, her head hung. Before she could exit, she crashed into something, or rather, someone.

"Oh, sorry. I wasn't looking--" She began, then, stopped, seeing it was Jaden.

"It's Ok, Lex," He assured her, smiling weakly. He may have been smiling, but his eyes were filled with discomfort. She wondered what he was so upset about.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked, the words coming out far harsher than she'd intended.

He blinked. "Oh, um, nothing. I'm fine. I just feel a little sick to my stomach, that's all."

"Did you eat anything?" She asked dumbly, sitting on his desk top as he took his seat.

He shook his head. "I couldn't stomach it." He sighed heavily and laid his chin on his arms, staring up at her, "I tried but…it made me feel queasy."

"But you always eat," She protested, feeling as though all her security had been stripped of her, "Did something really bad happen? Did someone die?" Fear flooded over her.

He sat up and looked at her. "Nah. It's probably just a cold or something. I'm all right, really."

She wasn't so sure. After Chazz had cracked the night before, she was suspicious of any alteration from the normal swing of life. "Jaden, can we talk. Please?" She sensed his instability, but she was willing to take a chance.

"Sure," He said, propping his chin in his hands and yawning. "You can tell me anything."

She hugged her knees to her chest for comfort and bit her lip, oblivious to the fact she was wearing a skirt. He didn't seem to notice, however. There was something heavy on both their minds, and they both knew what it was.

"Did anything, er, unusual happen last night?" She queried.

He scratched his nose thoughtfully, then nodded. "Come to think of it, yeah. There was a big windstorm, and now the ocean is all crazy today…but that wasn't weird in itself. I heard something outside my window. And when I went to check it out, I only saw a shadow moving away. But it happened so fast I don't even know if it was my imagination or not."

She sighed in relief. "So, I guess that Chazz was just being paranoid. He thought he was going crazy."

"How so?" Jaden asked, perking up.

"He thought he was seeing things," Alexis replied, shaking her head. "But since you saw the same sort of thing, I guess it really was there. He really scared me by telling me how crazy he thought he was...He said he'd been on medication before and had to go to therapy. That really bothered me."

Jaden looked surprised. "Why would he need those things? He seemed normal enough to me. Well, all right, maybe a little strange, but who isn't?"

"I don't know, really I don't." She hugged her knees tighter and rocked a bit. "Sometimes I do wonder if I can trust him though."

"You shouldn't have to wonder that," Jaden murmured.

"I know, but…I can't help it." She bit her lip and fell silent, staring down at the Slifer. "But then again…I don't think I can trust anyone. You never know when they might turn on you."

"That's a terrible way to think," He scolded, "Just because Zane lost it doesn't mean that everyone is. Everyone reacts to stress differently. Chazz will be fine. He's a good person."

Alexis nodded weakly. Jaden tried to comfort her by giving her a little hug. She couldn't help but smile as he clung to her legs, trying to console her by telling her he'd duel her if it'd make her feel better. Shaking her head, she quickly brushed him off and told him she'd see him later. There were other things that she had to do. She had to make sure Chazz was going to be all right.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Alexis was sitting on the balcony of the Obelisk boys' dorm, studying for the test she had the next day. Unlike the evening before, it was peaceful and tranquil outside. She hoped it would stay that way. Part of her warned that she should keep her guard up, however. Even though it seemed quiet enough, there could still be danger lurking nearby, namely, Zane. Quickly, she shook the thought from her mind and focused back on Duel Alchemy.

As her eyes scanned the words on the page, she noticed something drop down onto the book. At first it didn't register. Then, she watched in horror as a few stains of crimson began to appear. To make things worse, she felt a splitting headache come on, and her nose and mouth felt wet. It slowly dawned on her what was happening.

Quickly, she wiped the blood from the page and rushed inside, her hand covered over her nose and mouth. She grabbed some paper towels and held them to her nose. Chazz, who was preparing dinner for them because he didn't want to leave the room that night, turned to see what she was freaking out over. Feeling disgusted, she turned her back to him so he wouldn't see. She pulled the towels away; her eyes widened at the sight of a large, red spot the size of her fist on them. And the bleeding just wouldn't stop.

"Chazzy," She gasped, titling her head back and trying desperately to stop it.

He quickly turned the small stove off and rushed over to assist her. Not that there was much he could do. He pulled the towels away and looked at her face. Silently, he led her to the bathroom and began to wash her face with a warm cloth. Shaking, she clutched his arm and hoped that the bleeding had stopped. Once he brought the cloth away, to her relief, she found that it was over. He simply washed his hands again and ruffled her hair, mumbling something about how she needed to take an ibuprofen to help with the pain. She didn't know if that would be a good thing or a bad thing to make her headache go away. She knew it thinned blood, which might cause her bleeding to increase. However, she did what he said and took the medicine, then lay down for awhile.

He kept glancing over at her worriedly as he cooked some fish and rice for them. She knew he was more upset than he was acting though. She wondered if she should go see a doctor about it. Quickly shaking it from her head, she told herself it was nothing, even though it bothered her more than she let on.

It didn't really sink in her mind what was going on, though. She figured that it'd be nothing, and she'd be fine by the next morning. Feeling better, she ate a little something and lay down again to go to sleep.

During the night, she woke up, her head hurting worse than it had ever hurt before. She tried to stand so she could get some medicine again, but dizziness overwhelmed her and caused her to fall back down to the bed. Nausea took over her body, and she leaned over the side of the bed and threw up in a nearby wastebasket.

Hearing her heaving, Chazz woke up and pulled her hair out of her face. She was grateful for the gesture, but in too much pain to acknowledge him. After a few moments, she finished and turned on the light, which brought splitting pain through her skull. As she looked down at the contents of the trash can, she felt a wave of shock wash over her: it was filled with blood.

"Damn…" Chazz murmured, tying her hair back. "We've got to get you to a hospital…"

Alexis shook her head wildly. "I'm all right," She assured him, "Please, just let me take some medicine and go back to sleep. It'll be gone by the morning."

The last thing she wanted was some doctor poking at her and asking her embarrassing questions. She tried not to think about all the horrible things it could be. What if it was a kidney stone? What if it was cancer? What if…she was pregnant? This last question caused nausea to overtake her again. She grabbed the trash can and heaved again, only this time, just a small bit of blood came out.

Chazz rubbed her back gently as she finished once more. His onyx eyes were filled with concern as he lifted her from the bed and carried her into the bathroom. Quickly, he cleaned off her face and helped her brush her teeth before he wrapped her in a blanket and carried her out into the hall. She tried to protest, but he wouldn't allow her. He only took her out towards the main building, unsure of what he should do. Before he got to the school, however, he remembered that there was no one there that could take care of her. Biting his lip, he finally went to the Slifer dorm, trying to keep his cool but growing steadily more panicked.

He hurried up the steps and knocked on Jaden's door, some part of him secretly hoping that the other boy might know what to do. Deep inside, he just knew that his attempt was a last resort. He didn't know what to do. But he didn't want Alexis to know that.

Jaden opened the door, looking sleepy. He took one glance at the panicked expression on Chazz's face and stood aside to let him in. Chazz put Alexis down on the bed and turned to Jaden, his face pale.

"She's really sick…"

Jaden nodded slowly and eased himself down on the edge of the bed, staring down at Alexis. "She looks really sick."

"Jaden, you've got to help me," Chazz said quietly, trying to control his shaking voice, "I think she had internal bleeding or something. Because earlier she had a nosebleed, and then she started throwing up blood just a few minutes ago. There's no one on the island with medical training, is there?"

"Aren't all the teachers trained in first aid?" Jaden asked, scratching his head.

"Probably," Chazz replied, "But not enough."

Jaden thought for a moment before saying, "You know, this is getting awfully annoying."

"What do you mean?" Chazz asked worriedly.

Jaden frowned. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed…First, Syrus had these symptoms. Then, several other people here at Slifer came down with this 'mysterious' illness. And I've been feeling sick to my stomach myself…so I didn't eat the food…and it went away…" He thought aloud, "I think that it must be connected."

Chazz swallowed hard, then scowled and slapped himself in the forehead. "How STUPID can I be? Oh, Jaden!" He moaned, collapsing to the floor and holding his head in his hands, "I can't believe this…we're being poisoned through the food supply!"

Jaden stared down at the raven haired boy, unsure of what to say. "The food supply? Well, actually, that makes a lot of sense. I do feel better since I haven't eaten in two days…"

"Have you drunk anything?" Chazz asked anxiously.

Jaden nodded. "I don't think it could be the water supply though. Whoever's doing this doesn't want to kill the whole school."

"But then what do your neighbors in Slifer have to do with the killer?" Chazz asked, then thought grimly to himself, "The killer, as in, Zane."

Jaden shrugged. "I don't know. Random students in all the dorms have been getting sick."

"Do you think it's a distraction so we won't think we're the only ones being targeted?" Chazz asked, "Or are they connected in some way we don't know?"

Jaden shook his head. "How do you expect me to know? I haven't the foggiest idea. All I know is we can't eat the food here…"

"Well, that's kind of a given," Chazz grumbled. "In that case, you have an assignment."

Jaden blinked. "What's that?"

"I want you to watch Alexis while I go confront a certain person." His left eye twitched visibly.

"But," Jaden protested, "What should I do?"

"Give her lots of water," Chazz told him, "We can try to dilute the poison; even if it's already in her system…We can try to flush it out. Don't let her move around a lot, Ok? There's nothing else we can do right now."

Jaden nodded. "All right…whatever you say. I want to help with whoever this is, though."

Chazz scowled. "Not this time, Jaden. This time, it's personal." He stormed out the room, leaving Jaden wondering what he'd meant. Zane was not going to get away with it again. Now, Chazz had him figured out. And it was time to dig up their past in order to set things right…and hopefully make him realize what he was doing would not solve anything. Zane had to clear this issue up with Chazz himself.

* * *

**A/N: That was kinda hard to write considering I lost my master plan. : ( Ah, well. It's going to get better next chapter or two. Too bad this one was so bad. DX**

**Next time: Chazz confronts Zane about the poisoning and picks at some very sore spots. He ends up kidnapping Alexis, and the time they spend together brings some important issues to mind, and some negotiations. Then, when Zane finally releases Alexis and she meets up again with Chazz, what she has to say could mean life or death for the both of them.**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: I hope this chapter is as exciting as I said it would be…or as I imagined it would be -.-; I really hope that I'm not doing a hideous job with this story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own GX.**

* * *

Chapter 20:

Chazz raced down to the lighthouse, where he figured he would find Zane. The longer it took him to get there, the more time he had to think about his actions, and the angrier he became. He could not believe that he'd let this happen. If only he'd been more careful. He felt so foolish for not realizing what was making them sick before, and for letting Alexis get hurt like that. Question was, why was Zane abusing her and making her sicker? The answer lay in the recesses of his mind, but he wouldn't allow himself to realize it.

As soon as he reached the dock, he saw Zane's figure silhouetted against the night sky. The moon cast silver rays across the ground, shining in Chazz's face. He hurried noiselessly up behind Zane and stood, trying not to breathe hard.

"You finally decided to confront me, eh?" Zane asked, turning slowly, a calm expression on his face.

Chazz nodded, scowling deeper. "I don't appreciate how you poisoned us."

Zane raised an eyebrow. "Poisoned you?"

"I know you did it," Chazz snarled, "And I hate that you hurt Alexis so much. You claim to love her. Why do you hurt her so much then? This isn't like you. Don't you see that you're not yourself at all? If it's changing you this much, then don't you think this is bad for you?"

Zane rolled his eyes. "You need not jump to conclusions. That's why you lost against me…But, as for the matter with Alexis…" He stopped and sighed heavily, "You just wouldn't understand. You never did."

"What are you talking about?!" Chazz screeched, "You're making no sense at all."

"I don't have to," Zane smirked, "Just forget it. You'll know one day."

Chazz swallowed hard and took a step forward. Zane's smirk turned into a menacing frown. His eyes dared Chazz to take another step, to risk getting killed.

Zane tilted his head to one side a bit. "You never got it at all. And now, you're being so foolish as to leave Alexis with Jaden?"

Chazz gasped. "How do you know that?"

"I just know things," Zane muttered, avoiding the question. "Now, are we going to talk in circles all day, or are you going to get to the point?"

Chazz hesitated. "Look, I just want you to leave Alexis alone. This isn't about her and you, is it? It's about what happened between us, isn't it?"

Zane froze. His expression darkened. "Don't you ever bring that up again. I thought we'd made that clear."

"But if it's going to put her in danger, then I want to talk it out," He insisted.

"It's nothing you should be concerned about," Zane insisted, glowering, "You should be more concerned about leaving her alone with Jaden. You know how deeply he feels about her."

Chazz glared. "He wouldn't do anything behind my back! And neither would she…"

"You have way too much trust," Zane told him grimly.

Chazz refused to answer. He had a feeling that they weren't going to get anywhere with the conversation. Sighing, he decided he had to get Zane to talk about the past, however embarrassing that might be.

"Zane," He finally said, "We really have to talk about this. If your past feelings for me and my poor reaction is the reason for all this, then I need to know what I can do to redeem myself. The point is…I'm sorry I reacted the way I did. I shouldn't have behaved the way I did. I hope you can understand that it was a mistake to say you were wrong and gross…and I didn't mean it. I was just overwhelmed."

"What happened in the past doesn't matter. Neither does it have anything to do with this," Zane insisted, clenching his fists, "So forget about it and leave me alone."

"But it does matter," Chazz insisted, "You're getting more upset about it when I talk about it. I can tell. Just relax. I just want to apologize."

"You can't change anything," Zane spat, "So just go away. I don't want to talk to you right now. And if you're thinking that I still like you, you're wrong. I can't stand you." His teal eyes narrowed; his stare became icy. "I despise you."

Chazz opened his mouth to protest. However, Zane just raised his duel disk and brought it down sharply on the back of Chazz's head. Chazz crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Smirking, Zane turned around and walked briskly away, hoping that he would get to the Slifer dorm before his window of opportunity closed.

* * *

Jaden watched Alexis sleep, stroking her hair. It was good that she was finally asleep. Now maybe she could start to recover from her ailment. It was obvious she had never felt so horrible in her life. Every few minutes, he had offered her a sip of water, and every few minutes, she had found herself trying to throw it up. It had seemed as though they were getting absolutely nowhere. Thankfully, the pain had exhausted her so much, she had fallen asleep.

He listened intently, but there was no sound except for the creaking of the dorm every now and then. Sometimes, he swore that he thought the dorm was falling down. It wasn't exactly the most stable building at the Academy. Looking back down at Alexis, he hoped that Chazz would return soon, so he could help take care of her. He might have been able to offer her physical assistance, but he couldn't do much for her emotional pain. He looked both ways just to make sure he was alone, then leaned over and brushed his lips to her cold cheek. Laying his cheek down on the pillow, he stared at her frustrated expression. She didn't seem to be having a peaceful sleep.

He closed his eyes and sighed, then listened to her even breathing. Even though he'd promised to keep an eye on her, he felt incredibly tired, and thought maybe it would be all right to rest his eyes for a few minutes. Despite his promise, exhaustion got the better of him, and he fell asleep in the chair next to the bed.

There was a tap on the window. Jaden didn't stir. There was a louder rap. Still, no movement. Finally, the window opened, and Zane crept into the room. He looked down in disgust at Jaden. Truly, he made a pathetic guard for Alexis. This was far too easy. He lifted Alexis up and started to crawl out the window, however, pain shot through him. He crumpled to the floor momentarily, panting and gripping his chest. After a minute, the agony subsided and his pounding heart calmed. Taking a deep, steady breath, he managed to drop out the window while still holding on to her. He ran off into the night, gripping his prize tightly and taking care not to awake her.

Once he returned to the Obelisk boys' dorm, he set her on the bed and closed the door, locking it. He sat on the bed and waited for her to wake up. They had some talking to do. The only thing he wanted at the moment was revenge. He would do anything to show Chazz the hurt that he'd felt. And the only way to do that was through Alexis. He knew Chazz loved Alexis more than life itself. Well, they would just see how much Chazz meant what he said.

Zane soon grew impatient. He couldn't wait for Alexis to wake up, so he shook her violently. A little cry escaped her mouth, for the sudden movement jolted her and caused her stomach to hurt again. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked up at Zane. She jumped and scrambled to get off the bed. However, Zane caught her wrist and held her still.

"We have important matters to discuss," Zane told her firmly, "So sit back down. Besides, you wouldn't want to hurt yourself, now would you?"

Alexis shook her head quickly as she settled back down. "What do you want?" She asked bitterly.

Zane refused to look at her as he responded. "I can decrease the poison intake…if you just do what I tell you to."

Alexis crossed her arms and frowned. "I don't think so, Zane. I know that it's in the food supply, so I'm not going to eat it."

"You have no choice," Zane told her, "And besides, there's more to it then that. I can still inject you manually if I have to."

Alexis swallowed hard. "Fine. What do you want?"

"Listen, if you don't do what I tell you, then both you and Chazz will die. And, depending on how I feel, so will Jaden. But then again, it's not entirely up to me so…the whole school might even die."

"Not entirely up to you?" She asked, arching an eyebrow. "But you're working alone and Shroud is dead so…"

"It's not Shroud, idiot," He seethed, "It's the Shadow Riders!"

Alexis stared at him. "But weren't you…"

"You think I'm the bad guy here?" Zane asked angrily, "I may have hurt you, but I've also protected you people from being killed time after time. I only want to take care of certain ones of you. But then the Shadow Riders got involved…"

"Hold on a minute," Alexis said, holding her head in a hand, "You mean to tell me that it originally was just you, and now it's someone else too?"

Zane nodded. "When I first was working in the Underground with Shroud as my manager, it was just us. But then when I left, deciding I needed to find the Underworld deck on my own…he just went to our sister league and employed their help."

Alexis sighed heavily. "You're not even telling me the whole story but…it's a start."

"I don't have time to tell you the whole story," Zane growled, "Now, do you want my help or not? Because I hate the Shadow Riders as much as anyone else does, since they're after the same thing I am."

"Remind me again about the Shadow Riders," She said, sighing heavily, "Because I'm not sure that we're talking about the same ones…"

Looking exasperated, Zane replied, "Didn't you learn about Shadow Games yet?"

Alexis nodded. "Firsthand, actually. So? What does that have to do with my question?"

"Shadow Riders are seven people who still practice those Shadow Games," Zane explained to her, "They take people's souls to gain power and to gain the Spirit Keys…so they can resurrect the Sacred Beasts. You do know about that don't you?"

"Yes, I do. I didn't ask for a definition." Alexis said grimly, "But what do the Sacred Beasts have to do with the Underworld deck?"

Zane sighed. "Well, I already have the Underworld deck in my possession but…they've found that it contains power similar to that of the Sacred Beasts. So, naturally, they want that too. Greedy mongrels."

Alexis sighed heavily. "All right, I get it now. So what exactly do you want me to do?" She raised an eyebrow and looked skeptical.

Zane grinned wickedly. "You have to tell Chazz that you love me and not him. You have to tell him that you can't be with him anymore."

"But--" She began to protest, however, he put a finger to her lips and frowned coldly.

"You must. If you don't, he will die."

Alexis hesitated. She knew what her answer should be, but she was so shocked she didn't know what to say. On one hand, she absolutely had no choice. But telling Chazz those words would be the same as stabbing him through the heart with a knife. She looked back up at Zane in horror as he continued.

"But that's not all. You must make it painstakingly obvious that you just used him. You never really cared about him at all. You don't want anything to do with him ever again. You don't like him, not even as a friend. He's odious to you. He's obnoxious and foolish. Understand?"

Her knees went weak. However, she nodded feebly, her face paling. How could she even think of looking him in the eye and telling him such horrible words? Was there no way around it? Desperately, she tried to come up with an alternative.

"Zane," She gasped, gripping the sheets, "Can't I just tell him that I can't be with him anymore? I'll be loyal to you, promise…" She bit her lip, hoping that he'd say yes. At least then it wouldn't hurt Chazz as badly.

Zane frowned. "No! You must tell him everything that I've just said. Otherwise, you will die."

"Why is it necessary?" She argued, "It's the same either way. You'd still have me."

"No, it's NOT the same," Zane growled, tensing, his gaze piercing through her, "Unless he's heartbroken as badly as he could ever be, then it won't be the same. He must be punished. And I need you to do the job for me. Or he'll die."

"That's the same thing as killing him!" She protested, "I can't do that…he'll kill himself!"

"Ah, but it's not just his and your lives on the line…" Zane smirked, "But also your beloved Jaden…"

"J-Jaden…" She gasped, "No, NO! You CAN'T do that to him…he's done nothing to you!"

Zane glowered at her, "He doesn't have to. Listen, what's one death in comparison to three? Or four even? Remember, Syrus is still in the hospital. I can still kill him if I want to."

Alexis gulped nervously. Finally, tears stinging her eyes, she nodded. "Fine, I'll do it." Her nails dug into the mattress, the tears spilling over as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"That's a good girl," Zane purred, taking her chin in his hand, "I knew you'd finally agree."

Alexis jerked her face away from his hand, and snapped, her voice shaking, "Get away from me. I'll do what you told me to…but nothing more."

"Don't be so sure," Zane warned, "Remember, I still have your friends' lives in my hands. And they are now in your hands. If they die, it's your own fault. And don't forget to say that you love me, not him."

Alexis nodded weakly, her head spinning.

"Now, go. Tell him now. I'll follow you to make sure you do it." Zane gave her a rough shove off the bed.

She landed on her face, and gave a little cry of pain. Her stomach still hurt badly. So badly, in fact, she didn't know if she could walk. But fear motivated her. There was no way she could lose the friends she loved so deeply. She would do anything to protect them. Feebly, she made her way out, clutching her stomach, hunched over in pain. Zane followed at a good distance, yet close enough so that she could feel his presence. Wincing with each step, she slowly made her way down the path, looking for Chazz.

At that particular moment, Chazz and Jaden were looking for her and calling her name, and Chazz was scolding Jaden for not having kept a better eye on her. She saw them at a distance, looking through some bushes. Her heart sank. How she dreaded telling Chazz those horrid words. How hurt he'd be. Trying not to dwell on the thought, she took a deep breath, gathered her courage and her strength, and stumbled sluggishly over to the two boys.

"Chazz," She said quietly, her voice trembling.

He whirled around. His eyes lit up when he saw her, and he embraced her tightly. "Alexis! I was so worried when I saw you were missing…I was so afraid something bad had happened to you and--"

"Quiet," She interrupted, trying her best to look serious, "And let me go. Please." Feigning disgust, she pushed him away.

He looked down at her, confused. "What's wrong?"

"Don't touch me," She seethed, narrowing her eyes, "How dumb are you? Did you honestly believe that I could ever _like_ YOU?"

His eyes widened. "Wh-what? That's sort of random…"

"It's not random," Alexis grumbled, "I just can't stand your stupidity any more. I can't stand you at all. You are a terrible person. I don't like you. Not even as a friend. I don't want to be your friend. I don't want to have anything to do with you. Don't you understand? I NEVER loved you. I never had any feelings for you, and I never will. I was just using you. And now that I'm done with you, I won't be talking to you anymore. I hate you. The truth is…I love Zane…I always have. I just acted like I didn't because I wasn't done with you. But I realize now that I've wasted my time with you. Good riddance. Don't bother me again. Do you understand me?"

Chazz's mouth opened and shut a few times. He looked unsure of how to react. All he could do was stare at her, a forlorn expression on his face. Finally, he spoke in a shaking tone. "I used to really think you were something…but I guess I was wrong about you…You're not at all like I thought." He turned away slightly.

Jaden put a hand on Chazz's shoulder, rubbing it. He looked at Alexis in shock. "Lex, what was that all about?"

Her eyes darted momentarily to the spot where Zane was hiding. He glared at her, and nodded. She had no choice.

"Look, nothing's going on. Isn't it apparent what I'm doing? I don't like him. I used him. Tough luck for him. And don't get me started with you. I'm not that fond of you either. You're so stupid and naïve and you never understand anything…" She paused momentarily, feeling so hurt hearing herself say such things to him. She knew, though, that it was for their own good. "So don't even try to bother me, Ok? Just go about your merry little way like the happy-go-lucky fool you are."

Jaden stared at her. "Hey, no need for that!"

"Well, I hope you boys have nice lives," She sniffed indignantly, "because I won't be in them. Goodbye." She turned on her heel and stormed away.

Once they were out of sight, she stopped, and stood still, her arms wrapped tightly around her own waist. She bit her lip, her eyes blurring over. Trembling, her knees gave in, and she crumpled to the ground, covering her face with her hands.

"What have I done?" She gasped, "Why did it have to be this way…" Doubling over, she cried for a long time, until she felt a rough hand grab her up. "Get away from me!" She screamed as Zane forced her to look at him. She flailed and tried to punch him, "Get away from me, you freak!"

"How unlike you, Alexis," He commented coolly, "You're always so calm. I guess not so much anymore."

"How could I be?!" She gasped, tears still streaming down her face, "You just did the worst thing you could've possibly ever done to me. Thanks a lot."

"Watch yourself," He warned, clutching her wrist tightly, "I'm not through with you."

"What do you mean?" She asked, sniffing, "What more could you do to me?"

He smirked. "Well, let's see…you're sixteen, am I correct?"

Confused, she just nodded.

"And I'm eighteen…last time I checked, we can get married, can't we?"

"Wh-what?!" She struggled to escape his iron grip, "Not if it's against my will!"

"Well, we can change that, can't we?" He asked gruffly, jerking her body up against his, "You will marry me or else I'll have them killed. Understand?"

"Are you going to hold them over my head all this time?" She asked, continuing to struggle, "If that's the case, you should just kill them already! You're going to do it anyway."

"Be careful what you ask for," Zane told her, "You might just get it."

"I will NOT marry you."

"You will too."

"I refuse. Absolutely refuse."

"Then they die…"

"Stop it! Get away from me!" She screamed, thrashing.

"Be still!" He commanded, gripping her wrist tighter and twisting it painfully behind her back. "You will do it!"

"You can't tell me what to do," She snapped, squirming, "I won't do it! I'll never do it, Zane Truesdale, no matter what you tell me. You don't have the heart to do it. I know that the old Zane is in there somewhere…"

He held a gun to her head. "Do it, or you will die right here on the spot. Then you can't dictate me and tell me what I can and cannot do."

Alexis narrowed her eyes. "I'd rather die a thousand times than be stuck with the likes of you!"

"That's it," Zane growled, "I've had it with you."

Quickly, Alexis kicked him in the shin. He winced, and tried to pull the trigger. However, she would not allow it. She grabbed his hand and tried to pull the gun from him. At the same time, she twisted his arm a bit, so it was pointed towards the sky. She kicked him repeatedly and fought with all her might. And when that didn't work, she screamed for help.

Zane shoved her over to the ground, lying on top of her. She continued to push his hand towards the sky, as he began to overpower her and slowly take aim. Panting, she tried with all her strength to shove him away. It was all to no avail. She screamed again.

At that moment, Chazz and Jaden came running up. Jaden had Chazz by the arm, trying to comfort him. Chazz's face was a bit damp, but it didn't look like he'd been crying. However, when they saw what was going on, their expressions shifted from being concerned to angry.

"Get away from her!" Chazz shouted, "Leave her alone!"

"What can you do?!" Zane snapped, "I've had enough of you….Die like the bitch you are!"

He violently jerked the gun from Alexis' grip and shot at Chazz. The impact drove him back, causing him to fall into Jaden's arms. Alexis could only stare as blood stained Chazz's shirt.

"Zane, you bastard!" She screamed, turning to fight him. However, the gun in her face stopped her.

"I'm going to kill you," Zane snarled, "And nothing's going to stop me."

In response, Alexis gave him a swift kick, right below his belt. He dropped to the ground in pain, however, did not relinquish the gun. Coughing, he began to throw up. She gave him another kick to the head. It was so powerful, it knocked him out for a moment. Quickly, she dropped to her knees by Chazz, who was still in Jaden's arms.

"Chazz…" She gasped, touching his cool face, "I'm so sorry…"

He grimaced and writhed a bit, sweat beading on his forehead. "It's Ok…"

"No," She told him, tears stinging her eyes again, "It's not Ok…I never meant what I said…I was just trying to protect you from this. I'm so sorry…I couldn't protect you…"

"It's all right," Chazz assured her, then grunted in pain. "I'm Ok."

She pressed her hand over his bleeding chest. "Please don't die…" She begged, sniffing, "Please…I need you…I can take care of you. Please don't leave me. I'll do better, I promise! Please stay with me…"

He panted for a moment, blood trickling from his mouth, "I'm Ok," He told her, his eyes growing dull as he smiled wanly, "I promise you."

Chin trembling, she leaned down and pressed her lips to his forehead, then his nose. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him all over. She didn't care that she got his blood on her mouth. Clinging to his neck, she tucked her head under his chin and begged him not to die. She pressed her cheek against his collarbone and sobbed, though she did remember to thank him for saving her life.

He dropped his hand on her back and smiled down at her. "I love you, Ok? Don't ever forget that."

Sniffing and barely able to speak, she nodded. Desperately, she tried to tell him the same. But she was crying too hard.

He reached up and touched her face, "Baby, I want you to leave me…"

She shook her head wildly, clinging tighter to him, and tried to wail that she would never leave his side; that she'd die with him. But only a few garbled sobs escaped her lips.

Chazz looked up at the Slifer holding him. The other boy's chocolate eyes were drooping, filled with sadness. "I'll try to get you medical help," Jaden began, "I'll do whatever I can--"

"Leave me," Chazz commanded, "You have a new assignment now."

"But I can't--"

"If you don't get Alexis out of here," Chazz began, then coughed a bit of blood up. He took a deep, shuddering breath then continued, "She will die, and so will you. Please, take her and leave. Fly her out of here before that bastard wakes up. If she dies…then this will have availed to nothing. Get out of here! I want you two to escape unscathed. Please just go…"

"We'll take you with us!" Jaden protested, "So you won't die."

Chazz pressed his hand over his wound, "No, I'm not going to die," He assured them, a determined look coming to his face, "I'm going to take Zane down. Or at least get him out of this ridiculous mindset. I can't do it with you guys around because it's too risky. Take Alexis and protect her with your life, understand? I'll find you someday, I promise."

"But, Chazz," Jaden insisted, "I can help you! I can--"

"Go! NOW!" Chazz yelled, "Unless you want me to kill you both so your deaths will at least be merciful!" He shoved them away, "I can make it. I'll be Ok. Go, let me handle this on my own. Let me conquer him while you go someplace FAR away, where no one knows where you are. Here…"

He shakily stood, and almost collapsed. Alexis and Jaden quickly caught him to steady him. Taking a piece of paper out of his pocket, he scribbled something down and pressed it in Jaden's palm. "I trust you with this. It's my pin number. Use it to buy what you need. I also have a few addresses where I have some vacation homes, so you can have a place to live. And I have my signature giving you permission to withdraw money if you're caught. Now, there will most likely be spies coming after you since you know the Underground secret…so go…get out of here and be careful. And trust no one. Jaden, take good care of her or else I'll strangle you."

Jaden finally relented. "All right…but you'd better contact us later."

"Once I defeat Zane," Chazz promised, "Until then…"

Jaden just nodded. "I'll see you, bro. Take care and good luck." He hugged the other boy tightly. And Chazz only held him back for a moment.

Alexis stepped up to Chazz, staring up into his face. Finally, she threw her arms tightly around him and squeezed, sniffing and nuzzling his neck. He held her back momentarily. She looked up at him and, sliding her arms up around his neck, pulled his head down and kissed him hard. He pulled away before she was done.

"I…" She began.

Zane started to stir, so Jaden grabbed her wrist. "Come on!"

She could only look at Chazz sadly over her shoulder as Jaden dragged her away. Then, he picked her up and raced as fast as he could toward the hanger. He threw her into the co-pilot seat of the helicopter, and snatched the keys from their hook. Then, he pulled the lever that opened the hanger's ceiling. Jumping into the helicopter, he quickly started the ignition.

"Do you know how to--" She began.

He shook his head. "Not really. I've flown RCs before when I was younger and played video games but…I guess I'm just going for a crash course in it right now…"

Alexis felt weak. "Crash course…" She gasped, "Great. You mean that literally, don't you?"

He grinned weakly. "We have no other choice, Lex. It's either sink or swim. We'll die if we don't take this risk."

She nodded as he took it off the ground. "Do you at least sort of know what you're doing?"

After a moment of thought, he nodded. "Yeah. The video game had the same sorts of controls on the screen…I know what they do. Sort of. Kind of. Not really."

Alexis took a deep breath and let it out slowly, digging her nails into the armrest. Grinning weakly at Jaden, she told him, "Well, I guess it can't be helped. In that case, bring it on."

He smiled nervously at her as well, as they flew over the ocean and watched Duel Academy grow smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared. Whether they liked it or not, they had to live on their own undercover, until Chazz told them it was all right. Question was, would he even be able to tell them? After all, he might not even survive the night.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope that was exciting enough for you. : P**

**Next time: Jaden and Alexis try to hide out near Tokyo. They find it difficult though, even with Chazz's help. Neither of them have any allies, nor do they know what they're doing. Question is, are they really safe, or are their enemies following them?**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: I've been really bored lately. No one's been able to talk to me since I've been out of school. Ah well. I hate isolation though. I'm very sociable. DX So for my friends reading this, please talk to me more if you have time. T.T Anyway, this chapter will have some fianceshipping (uh, obviously) but…yeah…that's it. Just a warning I guess. X(**

**Disclaimer: I do not own GX. I wish I did. If I did, then there would be a 5****th****, and a 6****th****, and a 7****th**** season!! DX **

* * *

Chapter 21:

"Well, this is it." Jaden said, looking down at the slip of paper in his hand and then at the tall building in front of them. "Now, we just have to get the guy at the front desk to give us the key…"

"We do have Chazz's signature," Alexis reminded him, "We'll be all right. It sure was nice of him to offer for us to be able to stay in his condo, though. I really hope he's all right." Her eyes dropped to the ground. As much as she tried not to worry, she found herself unable to help it. She wished with all her heart that they could be with Chazz.

Jaden patted her on the shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, Lex. I'm sure he found a way out. You know how he is. He always squirms his way out of trouble."

"Not really," Alexis said, sighing, "He usually gets in more trouble trying to get out of trouble. Poor guy. We really shouldn't have abandoned him back there."

Jaden rubbed her back. "I'm sure he's fine. Now, come on."

She followed him up the front walk. They went through the revolving glass doors, and stepped into the cool, airy lobby. The floor was made of white marble with gray and black veins streaking through them. There were columns on each end of the lobby with gold gilding on the tops. In the center were several plush, plum colored sofas and a few mahogany coffee and end tables. Several small shops were to their left, and there was a deli in the corner. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee was thick in the air, along with the smell of cinnamon buns. On the right wall going down the hall and behind the information desk were reproductions of famous paintings, illuminated by accent lights that gave off a soft, warm yellow glow. Behind the highly polished information desk, there was an old, balding man, who was dressed in a highly distinguished business suit, placing a dish of water in a birdcage. Jaden gestured for Alexis to follow, and approached the desk.

"Excuse me, sir," He said politely, "But my friend and I have been invited to stay here by Chazz Princeton, in room 1201. Here, I have a paper with his signature on it."

The man looked down his nose at the two teens, but took the paper and looked over it for a moment. He reached into a file cabinet and compared the papers in the folder to the signature on the slip of paper. Much to their surprise, he went so far as to pull out a magnifying glass to study the two. Finally, he handed them the slip of paper back.

"There's nothing in our call logs about this," He murmured, going through the computer, "But that is Mr. Princeton's signature…"

Jaden and Alexis exchanged a glance, biting their lips. They were both worried that the signature might not be enough. Deep inside, Alexis had known that it wouldn't be enough. She didn't know what they would have to do if they didn't have a place to stay. Zane would be able to find out where Alexis and Jaden lived with ease. Going home was out of the question. But if they stayed at one of Chazz's many homes, perhaps he wouldn't be able to find them. Besides, this place was highly guarded. There was no way they'd let Zane, or anybody for that matter, in without confirmation prior to his visit.

The man scrolled down the computer screen, adjusting his glasses every now and then. Finally, he found what he was looking for and printed it out. He handed them a paper. "It looks as though your friend did come through for you after all," He told them as they inspected the paper authorizing them to stay, "He sent an e-mail from his cell phone. And since you have his signature as well, I suppose it would be all right for you to stay. Use this paper whenever you leave or come back. You need to show it to whoever's working at the front desk. Now, I need you to leave your names with me so I can put them in the log book."

Alexis broke out into a sweat. For a split second, she wondered if she should come up with an alias. But Jaden beat her to it.

"Yuki," He said, "Jaden and Alexis Yuki."

Alexis stared at him. He shot her a wide eyed, nervous glance as the man entered their names into the computer. She remained silent.

"All right, then." He turned from the computer and unlocked a glass case. Then, he pulled out two key cards and handed it to them. "Be careful not to lose these. These are your keys into your room. And here are two key cards for the elevator. Be sure to drop them off at the front desk each time you leave."

Jaden and Alexis nodded as they took the key cards from him. They thanked him respectively, then went down the lobby to the elevator.

"Well, Chazz's family spared no expense," Jaden mused, "They're on the top floor."

"Penthouse?" Alexis asked, shaking her head, "I'm sorry, but that's a waste of money."

"Hey, if it's what they want." He shrugged, punching in the numbers.

As the doors closed, Alexis shifted uncomfortably and glanced over at the boy standing next to her. Finally: "Yuki? Jaden and Alexis Yuki?" She looked at him skeptically, "Come on, Jay. We don't look like brother and sister at all. And we're far too young to be married. That's obvious."

"It was the first thing that came to my mind!" He protested, "Besides, we could be step-brother and step-sister. You know?"

She shrugged. "Whatever. I just think it probably was a mistake to do that. I mean, what if Chazz had sent our names?"

"Obviously he sent my name…" Jaden said, glancing down at the sheet, "He has your name too, but I guess that it didn't matter…"

Alexis groaned. "This is just crazy. I don't know how we were let in so easily. It was almost too easy. And he didn't even ask for any identification!"

"Hey, miracles happen I guess," Jaden said, grinning.

She simply brushed past him as the doors opened. He followed her to the door.

"Well, here it is…room 1201. And by the looks of it, it seems as though it takes up the entire floor!" Alexis commented. "Ugh. Such extravagance." Feeling slightly disgusted, she unlocked the door.

They stepped into the darkened room and shut the door, hearing it safely lock and deadbolt with relief. Jaden flipped on the switch by the door, lighting up the foyer. The floor was cool, glossy white tile. The walls were painted a darker shade of cream, with a few paintings hung on the walls. Off to the right, there was a small drop leaf table against the wall, with a tall, white vase of faux red roses. Above the table was a small mirror with an elaborate silver frame.

At the end of the foyer was the living room, which was also painted cream. The beige carpet was plush and thick, quite pleasant to walk on. Against the wall was a long, tan sectional sofa with a few plum colored accent pillows. There were two light brown leather chairs against the sliding glass window, which was framed by thick plum drapery. Against the opposite wall was a cherry entertainment center with a flat screen television, DVD player, and stereo. In front of it was a cherry coffee table. Two matching end tables went at one side of the sofa and next to the plum colored loveseat. There were contemporary prints and paintings hung on the walls.

Near the living room was the kitchen, which had a bar looking into the living room. There were a few barstools against the gray granite countertops. The kitchen itself spared no expense. It had polished cherry cabinets going around in a U shape, along with the island in the middle. Above the island hung a chandelier, which matched the one over the dining room table in the niche nearby. There was a black and white patterned backsplash against the range. All the appliances were stainless steel.

"Well," Jaden said, looking in the cabinets nosily, "Looks like we have everything we need."

"Except for food," Alexis said grimly, "Looking in the refrigerator, "We'll need to go grocery shopping. Though I really don't want to go out quite yet. I want to get settled and make a checklist of what we need. I'm really worried about leaving too."

"I'll go if you'd like while you stay here." Jaden offered.

Alexis shook her head. "That's really sweet, Jay, but I'd rather we stick together. I can't imagine what might happen to us if we split up. It's best we look out for each other, Ok?"

Jaden nodded. "All right. So what do we need so far? I mean, we do have Chazz's pin number. We can get some money at the bank, and then go shopping."

"We could go downstairs for some of the simpler items," Alexis sighed, "But we might as well just go to the grocery store for it all. At least we have that option if we need something…We won't have to leave all the time. And we could eat at the deli if we're too tired to fix anything to eat tonight. But as for things we need…Let's check the rest of the rooms before deciding that."

She led Jaden into the master bedroom. There was a king sized bed against the wall, with two night stands on either side. Across from the bed was a dresser with a mirror, and a television was perched atop the dresser. There was a chair in the corner, and a bookcase. On the other wall was a closet, and then next to the closet, then entrance into the spacious bathroom.

She checked the closets, and found there were bed linens, soap, shampoo, towels, and tissue. Looking through the cabinets underneath the bathroom vanity, she found a hairdryer, pain medication, bandages, and a first aid kit. Feeling satisfied, she straightened up.

"We're just going to need food, dish detergent, and clothes," She told him, "So I guess we should go ahead to the grocery store. Then, I guess we can try one of the small boutiques nearby. I just hope it's not too expensive."

"We're in the rich area of the city," Jaden sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed, "Of course everything's going to be expensive."

Sighing as well, she sat next to him and laid her head on his shoulder, looking sad. "Do you think we're going to be here a long time?"

Jaden put an arm around her shoulders comfortingly, "I don't know, Lex…I'm sure that something will work out and we'll get to go back to Duel Academy soon. It's not like we could really learn in that environment anyway."

Alexis laughed softly and slipped her arm around his waist, giving him a squeeze. "It's not like you were trying anyway…" Sighing again, her expression melted away into sorrow again. "I really need to know how Chazz is doing…I can't stand not knowing if he's dead or not."

Rubbing her shoulder, Jaden finally admitted, "I can't stand it either. I really wish we knew…but there's nothing we can do right now. I would go back if I knew it'd do any good. But I promised him I'd take care of you. I have a feeling that he wanted to take care of Zane himself…though it would've been best had he allowed us to help too."

Alexis shrugged. "Chazz likes to handle things on his own. He doesn't really like having help." Slowly, she rose to her feet, grabbing Jaden's hands and pulling him up as well. She looked up at him, into his chocolate eyes, then murmured, "You're getting taller."

He refused to respond to this comment, only led her out of the bedroom and down the foyer again. "We should be going."

She nodded, clutching his hand. "I'm uneasy…but I'll trust you…"

"I don't like going out right now either. But if we stock up on food, we won't have to leave for awhile." He told her. "And Zane doesn't know where we are right now. So it's best we go ahead and take care of it before he finds out."

Reluctantly, Alexis left the safety of the room. She found herself clutching Jaden's arm as they rode the elevator down. They didn't say a word to each other until they were out on the sidewalk.

"Do you know where to grocery store even is?" Alexis asked.

Jaden shrugged. "I haven't the slightest clue."

Alexis sighed. "I guess we need to do our clothes shopping first anyway. We don't want any perishable groceries to get too warm or anything."

"All right," Jaden agreed, following her down the sidewalk.

It was a rather pleasant day. The sun was shining warmly down on them as they walked towards a small shopping center. A gentle breeze blew the trees slightly, which kept the day from being uncomfortably warm. It was just perfect. Unfortunately, both of them had a rather heavy burden resting on their shoulders. They could not enjoy the peace because of the huge predicament they were in.

After withdrawing some money from an ATM at the bank, they went looking for a place to buy some clothes.

"How about this one?" Alexis asked, pointing to a small store.

Jaden shook his head. "It looks too expensive. Let's keep walking." He seemed uneasy. Grabbing Alexis' hand and lacing his fingers with hers, he hurriedly led her away.

Concerned, she asked, "What's wrong?"

He refused to respond, only kept walking and didn't look back. That was when Alexis knew something was wrong. She gripped Jaden's hand tightly as they slipped into the store. As they hid among the aisles, she realized she was trembling. Jaden pulled her close to him and peered around the shelving. She was so close, she could feel his heart pounding against her. His sudden discomfort bothered her greatly. She wished he could tell her what was wrong.

He stood still for a minute, then reluctantly released his grip on her. Grinning sheepishly down at her, he told her, "Sorry, I could've sworn we were being followed. Guess it was just my imagination."

She frowned. "Don't be so paranoid!" She reprimanded, "You had me scared to death!"

He blushed, embarrassed. "I'm really sorry, Lex. Can we just go on with what we need to do?"

Alexis just nodded. She was glad that Jaden was being cautious, however, she did not appreciate him scaring her like that. Trying to shake off her fear, she led him through a few aisles until she found the racks of clothes. They went about their business, but more quietly and discreetly than before.

Once they'd picked out a good enough sized wardrobe, consisting mostly of T-shirts, jeans, and sweatpants for comfort and for economic reasons, they checked out. They were given some strange looks for buying such a large amount of clothes; however, they were not questioned.

"Ok, Jaden," Alexis told him, putting the bags and packages in his arms, "We'll go pick up some food now. You carry those while I shop, Ok?"

He nodded, looking at her from behind the packages. She laughed softly at how loaded down he was and at the annoyed expression on his face. After a moment, he grinned as well and followed her down the street, towards the grocery store.

Once more, they received strange looks. This time, however, it was from how many bags Jaden was carrying. Alexis knew it looked suspicious, but they didn't have any other choice. She ignored the strangers and began putting things in a shopping cart.

"I don't think we have enough food," Jaden said, watching her.

"What do you mean?" She asked, blinking as she put a couple of cans of mixed vegetables in the cart.

"I eat a lot," He told her sheepishly. "I can't help it…"

Sighing heavily, she took several more cans off the shelf. "How long do you want the food supply to last?"

"A couple of weeks? I don't know. If we run out, I'll go out and get some more food, Ok?" He smiled at her, "Don't worry, Lex. I can handle myself."

"All right," She agreed, "We'll do that then. So, we have canned vegetables, crackers, soup, bottled water, juice, sliced bread, dried meat, rice, flour, butter, milk, eggs, and dish detergent. Is there anything else we need?"

"Snacks." He said, blinking.

She gave him a look. "Jaden, we can't waste our money on snacks. We need to be as frugal as possible with Chazz's money. We're NOT taking advantage of him."

Jaden gave her a puppy look. "Can't we have just a _few_ snacks? Like some chips or cookies or something? Please?"

Sighing heavily, she finally agreed. "All right, Jay. You win. If it'll keep you from starving."

He smiled widely. "Thanks!"

As she turned the cart around to go down the snacks aisle, she thought she saw someone duck around the corner. Feeling uneasy, she cautiously moved forward. Jaden followed close behind her, oblivious to her discomfort. Seeing a shadow hovering at the end of the aisle, she suddenly stopped, causing Jaden to crash into her back. Turning around, she looked up at him in alarm. He gazed down at her, concerned. Silently, she beckoned for him to follow the other way around. Quickly, she took the cart to the checkout.

He turned to look at the magazines, but she grabbed him by the front of the shirt and leaned close to him. "Jaden," She hissed, "I'm sorry, but we have to get out of here. I don't think you were being paranoid when you saw someone following us. I think we're really in trouble…"

"It's Ok," Jaden assured her, "We'll get back in time. And don't worry about any extra food. We'll find a way to make do."

Alexis nodded, biting her lip. She turned to pay for their purchase. Then, she carefully took as many bags as she could in her arms. Seeing that there were quite a bit left, she turned to Jaden, giving him a helpless look. Sighing heavily, Jaden managed to gather the rest of the bags, along with the packages he was already carrying. Loaded down, they hurried out.

They struggled to keep hold of their bags while hurrying down the street. Since it wasn't too far away to the condominium, they took the sidewalk instead of riding a bus. It might take them longer to get back that way, especially if they had to wait. It really didn't seem to be like a good idea to be sitting idly by the bus stop, waiting in such a vulnerable state.

Alexis sighed in relief, seeing the building. However, her relief was short-lived. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a darkly clad figure watching them from the shadows. Catching her breath in her throat, she tried to ignore him and tried to tell herself that he was just another pedestrian and she was being paranoid. Another glance at him revealed something rather unsettling; there was a glint of silver from something beneath his jacket. Swallowing hard, she turned to Jaden and quickly whispered the situation.

"Should we go back to our building or go to another, so he won't know where we're living?" She asked softly.

Jaden's eyes flickered briefly over to the figure. He looked back down at Alexis, uncertainty written on his face. "If we go somewhere else…Well, what if we can't get back?"

Alexis nodded weakly. "Good point."

Without hesitating any more, Jaden led her back to their building. Only when they were in the elevator did she begin to relax. However, she did not feel entirely safe until they were locked securely in their room. Throwing the bags on the counter, she turned to Jaden. He looked down at her as he placed his bags on the counter as well. His chocolate eyes softened.

"Geez, Lex, calm down. You're shaking all over. It's all right."

She laughed nervously. "I'm fine," She assured him, brushing a strand of hair out of her face, "Just a little shaken, that's all." Crossing her arms over her chest, she averted her gaze.

Jaden hesitated, then slowly slipped his arms around her waist and held her. "It's Ok. We're not going to be hurt. No one can get to us here. No one can hurt us. Besides, even if they do get past security, they won't be able to get past me." Beaming, he poked her nose with his forefinger.

"Ok," She reluctantly pulled away, "I'm fine now…thanks. Look, why don't you go watch the news or something? Just to see if there's any information about Duel Academy. Unless they're covering it up. In the meantime, I'll make us a little dinner. Sound good?"

He nodded, "I'd like to help you, but I guess I'll see what they talk about first. Though I'm not very good at focusing on the news…"

She groaned. "Please try to just this once. It's important. I'm worried sick about Chazz."

"Ok. Will do." He ruffled her hair affectionately, then went into the living room and flopped on the couch, turning the television on.

Hearing the blare of the TV, Alexis began to feel a bit more comfortable. Things were going to be all right. They could go back to normal if they tried. Relaxing a great deal, she began to cook some rice and meat on the stove. A few minutes later, she heard the TV turn off, and Jaden stepped up to the bar, resting his arms on it and looking at her. Seeing his pale face, she quickly turned the stove down and stepped over.

"What's wrong?" She asked, a sick feeling hitting the pit of her stomach.

"Lex…" He swallowed hard, "Zane's lost it…if he's even the one doing all this. Somehow, I don't think he'd be capable of it. But…someone set up a bomb in the Ra dorm and…it's gone….And there was another one in the teacher conference room."

She stared at him, her hand covering her mouth. "Was there anyone in the dorm?"

He nodded weakly. "Most of the Ra students were in there. And there was a teacher conference going on at the time too…a lot of people died. They finally started evacuations. They finally stopped covering everything up."

"It's about time!" She gasped, "What's wrong with those people? Don't they know when to let their pride go?"

"Well, do remember that they've covered up plenty of scandals before…I don't know why they care about publicity more than the students…they could've prevented this." He rested his chin in his hands, looking downcast, "It sucks that so many people got hurt…I just hope Bastion is Ok."

"It's all right," Alexis told him, petting his hair, "But I don't understand why anyone would want to do this…Why would anyone want to direct an attack on both the teachers and the students? Usually, it's just directed towards the students."

Jaden shook his head. "You got me."

Sighing, she turned back to the stove and stirred the rice, then turned the meat. "Oh, Jay…things just seem to get worse and worse. I don't know if we'll even be able to go back. What if we can't leave? What if we're in danger for the rest of out lives?"

Jaden banged his fist on the bar, causing Alexis to jump. "Don't ever think that we can't get out of this mess!" He told her, frowning, his eyes filled with determination, "I'm not going to stand for this. Something has to be done. If Zane did it, then we're going to have to take him down. If he didn't do it, then I'm sure he knows something about it. Whatever the case is, I'm going to take care of this matter once and for all. I've stood back too long. Now it's time that I stepped up and did something about this."

Alexis gawked at him. "You can't seriously be thinking about taking whoever this is on all by yourself! Would you like me to help you?"

He shook his head, "You have other problems you need to take care of. It's so complicated it's going to take our all…a group effort to bring down the whole operation. Don't worry, I got this one."

"I can't let you do this!" She protested, "It's far too risky."

"Hey, if no one else can do it, don't you think I deserve a shot? What, do you think I can't do it? I don't have a deck of heroes for no reason, you know." He grinned wryly at her, holding up two fingers, "Don't worry, Lex. I'll protect you with my life. There's no way that anything is going to happen to anyone else, either. I'll give my life if I can just defeat whoever this culprit is…"

"Well," She murmured, half closing her eyes and sighing heavily, "I do have faith in you. You can duel. But can you hold your own if it comes down to weapons or hand-to-hand combat?"

"I can do more than enough," Jaden told her, frowning, "We can stay here for a few days to see if things get any better. After all, we have to find out if there is really someone following us. And we need to see if we can gather some information on Zane and what's been going on…"

"And on the Shadow Riders," She added, wagging a finger at him, "Don't rush into this."

"I'm not. That's why I'm taking a few days to learn about my enemy." He clenched his fists, "But, man, do I want to go there right now! I'd do anything to take care of this before anyone else got hurt. If my delay causes other people their lives, I don't know if I can forgive myself!"

"It's not your fault, then," She told him, placing a hand on his tense shoulder, "We're doing the best we can do. We're doing what's the smart thing to do. For now, just eat some dinner, all right? Then we can talk about saving our peers and Duel Academy's reputation."

Crossing his arms and looking oppositional, he scowled and thought for a moment. Finally, he sighed and nodded. "Well, I guess you can't fight evil on an empty stomach."

Smiling sadly, she held a plate out to him, "That's right. Now let's eat."

* * *

Later that evening, Alexis stepped out of the bathroom, having finished her shower, to find Jaden on the computer. Curious, she leaned over his shoulder to read. He was trying to look up information about the Shadow Riders, and was not having much luck. Glancing at the time, she gently tapped him on the shoulder.

"Jaden, I'm exhausted. Can that wait until tomorrow? It's late anyway. It's been a long day."

Looking up from his work, he yawned and nodded. "All right. I'll go take a shower and be right back."

"Thank you," She muttered, turning the computer off as he went into the bathroom.

Feeling as though she were about to pass out, she dropped down onto the bed, her face in the down pillow. She let her eyes droop shut for a few minutes. She lay still for awhile, listening to the shower, then rolled over on her back and laid her arm over her eyes, to block out the light. Hearing the shower turn off and the hairdryer blowing, she let herself start to drift off to sleep. It wasn't long, however, until Jaden came back into the room, redressed in a black T-shirt and gray sweatpants. Yawning, he flopped down next to her, jolting the mattress. She jumped a little, then looked tiredly over at him. His eyes were half shut, but glinted ever so slightly in the light. His dark hair spread across the pillow, almost like a girl's might. Laughing a little, she sat up and turned the light out.

"So you're sleeping with me tonight?" She asked him.

He nodded, snuggling against his pillow and closing his eyes. "Where else is there to sleep, really? Besides, I want to be here in case anything happens to you."

"Ok," She agreed, closing her eyes as she pulled the covers up over them, "I don't mind. Good night."

"Night," He murmured, then almost immediately fell asleep.

However, both were oblivious to the obvious danger outside. A figure stood below in an alley, talking on the phone. He smirked, his white teeth gleaming in the moonlight.

"I found him. I've found Jaden Yuki. We can move on to step two of our plan."

Hanging up, he snickered softly as he dashed off, disappearing into the shadows of the night. It wouldn't take much more to lure Jaden into his trap. Of this, he was sure.

* * *

**A/N: Bleh. I hope that wasn't too boring. It was kinda short too...and ended really quickly because I ran out of inspiration. Next chapter will be better. But I had fun writing this one, so...that's all that matters. XDD **

**Next time: Jaden and Alexis decide whether or not to go back to Duel Academy as strange things begin to happen. A new alliance is formed, and a new corruption appears. Also, Zane has a little surprise for Chazz. And will it help him to understand what's wrong with Zane?**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Ok, I'm ready to introduce my head to the wall…I can't believe this shit! I forgot my damn plan!! AGAIN!! CURSE THE ACCIDENT THAT GAVE ME SHORT TERM MEMORY LOSS!! :kills the computer: RAWR I hope I remember it…:crumples to the floor and dies in a puddle of blood after having an epileptic frenzy:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own GX…nor do I own Chazz…though I DAMN wish I did…GAH but I have to share him anyway. :sigh:**

* * *

Chapter 22:

Alexis and Jaden lay in bed sleeping peacefully, even late into the morning. The brown haired boy was lying on his side, his arm slung over Alexis' stomach, breathing softly in her ear. Alexis lay on her back, one arm over her head and the other across her stomach, her hand on Jaden's elbow. They had been exhausted from their experience. Not to mention the safety the condominium offered allowed them to finally relax. There was a good chance that they might even stay in bed all day.

Finally, Alexis stirred a little. The sunlight that trickled in through the blinds made it impossible for her to sleep. Yawning, she sleepily half opened her eyes and glanced over at the boy next to her. She smiled, then rolled over and saw the time. Her eyes widened. She leapt out of bed, realizing that they'd slept in to nearly noon. And knowing Jaden, he'd keep sleeping past noon. Well, she might as well leave him alone. He'd more than earned it anyway.

She took a T-shirt and a pair of jeans from the closet, then went into the bathroom to change. Then, she quickly combed her long, golden hair and pulled it into a ponytail. It would be easier to cook breakfast if her hair was out of her face, anyway. Sighing, she stared at her reflection. What had she become? Why was she so scared? Well, everyone was scared of this. This wasn't anything they could solve by dueling. This was basically a terrorist attack. In fact, she felt a lot calmer than she figured she should.

There was one thing that worried her particularly, though…Well, someone, actually. And she couldn't get him off of her mind. She was deathly worried about Chazz. It almost killed her to think that she'd left him behind like that. Really, she was ashamed of herself. She needed to get a hold of her emotions and summon her courage again. She could take care of this problem. She could protect herself if she really tried…couldn't she?

The longer she thought about it, the worse she felt. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around her lithe figure, biting her bottom lip. She stared into her amber eyes reflected in the mirror. Her reflection did not look like the strong shell of a duelist she had been before; she looked frightened, helpless, weak. How had she allowed this to happen? She needed to do something, anything, to gain control again. With a heavy sigh, she decided that she would talk to Jaden at brunch about the matter. After all, it had been foolish to run away. What cowards they had been! She was ashamed of what they had done. She had finally made up her mind that no matter how stupid it might be, she was going to return to Duel Academy and face her fears. She was going to make sure Chazz was all right. Well, even if they did die, at least they would've tried to protect others. If something wasn't done soon, then other people would be hurt and killed. They couldn't stand back and watch that happen.

Reluctantly, she retreated from the bathroom and shuffled into the kitchen. She pulled out a frying pan and some bowls, and began to prepare a meal of scrambled eggs, miso soup, rice, shredded cabbage, and tomato wedges. If she made enough food, then it wouldn't be too light of a meal. And if Jaden was still hungry after that, she could always prepare some salmon for him. As she scraped the eggs into the frying pan, she figured that the Slifer would come running when he caught a whiff of the food. Unless he was too tired. She doubted this, though.

Sure enough, she hadn't gotten half way through cooking the meal when she heard soft footsteps behind her. A moment later, she felt someone standing closely behind her, practically breathing down her neck. Shaking her head, she turned to find herself gazing into eager chocolate brown eyes. She smiled and hit him with a spoon that had been lying nearby.

"Wait for it," She teased, pushing him away a little, "It won't be much longer. And then we have to talk. Ok?"

Jaden looked a little bit uncertain. He scratched his head and seemed uncomfortable. "Well, all right…I just hope it's not bad news or anything."

Her playful smile faded, being replaced with a more serious expression. "Jay," She said softly, "We've been really stupid...Or at least I have. You were only trying to help me out…But I should've never agreed to run away and abandon Chazz. I can't stand it…" She took a deep breath and sighed heavily, "But, we'll talk about that while we eat. Just…go watch T.V. or something. See if there's anything more about Duel Academy, Ok?"

He just nodded and walked into the living room. Then, he flopped on the couch and turned on the television, making sure the volume was low. The quiet din of the television made Alexis relax. Something just seemed normal about it.

She finished preparing breakfast and set it out on the dining room table, along with chopsticks, spoons, and glasses of milk. Then, she stepped into the living room, where she found Jaden sitting on the couch, his knees pulled up to his chest as he hugged a pillow. His eyes were glued to the T.V. She lightly touched his shoulder.

"Jay? Food's ready."

He glanced up at her, then smiled a little. "Ok. Thanks." He straightened up and went into the kitchen to wash his hands. As he did so, he looked over the bar at her. "Um, there's no more news about Duel Academy. It's like they forgot about it or something."

"Well," She pointed out, "There are plenty of other incidents going on in the world. Besides, no news is, in a sense, good news. I mean, that means that nothing else happened, right?"

He shrugged as he sat in a chair and began to eat. "I guess…"

They ate in silence for several minutes. Both of them were thinking about what they had to do. It wasn't going to be easy. But then again, the right thing was never easy. It almost made her sick to think that she had allowed herself to be so cowardly. She coughed a little to get his attention.

"Um, I think we really need to go back."

He looked up from his food, then nodded. "Definitely. There's no question about it." Sighing heavily, he ran a hand through his hair and leaned back in his seat. "I just wish we knew more about what exactly we're up against."

She shrugged. "We may never find out unless we see for ourselves."

"That's true," He admitted, "All right. It's settled then. We're leaving today."

She breathed a sigh of relief. She could only hope that they would succeed, and that Chazz would be all right. All she could do was hope that he'd survived…

* * *

Chazz shifted his position in the darkened room uncomfortably. Ever since Zane had brought him back to his room and cleaned up his wounds, he'd felt uneasy. Something just wasn't right about the guy. Obviously, he had been straying into some harmful practices before. But this…this wasn't Zane at all. It was becoming more than clear to him that it wasn't any outside influence on Zane. He was nothing more than a shell, hosting some sort of entity…There was no other explanation for his behavior.

Feeling his leg starting to fall asleep, Chazz shifted again, as much as his bonds would allow him. As he did so, he agitated his gunshot wound. Wincing, he crumpled back to a kneeling position, sitting on his feet. Well, Zane had been able to disinfect the wound. What he hadn't done was cure it. All he'd done was clean it up and wrap gauze around it. The bullet had to still be in there somewhere…unless Zane had pulled it out while he was unconscious. It seemed unlikely, though.

At that moment, the door opened. A tall, dark figure strode across the room quickly. Chazz tensed considerably. He wasn't able to do anything to protect himself. He was at Zane's mercy, completely helpless. How he loathed that feeling. It made him seem so…worthless. He had been rendered useless thanks to that damn bullet.

Zane squatted in front of him, his icy eyes cold and almost even lifeless. Chazz boldly stared into them, raising his chin in defiance. No, he wouldn't give in. Fear was what Zane wanted. And he wasn't going to cater to the other boy's every whim.

Seeing Chazz's angry stare, Zane frowned. He gripped the teen's chin between a finger and a thumb, jerking his face up further to inspect the pale, tender neck beneath it. Smirking, he slipped his hand in his black jacket, and produced a rather long knife. He proceeded to hold the weapon flat against the boy's neck, feeling the rapid pulse beating through the blade to the handle.

"I could very well kill you if I pleased," Zane hissed, his voice holding a strange thin quality to it, almost as if he was straining to speak, "but I won't. As long as you do as I say, and contain yourself. Don't protest. Don't make any noise. If you do, you're dead. Understood?"

Chazz continued to stare the other boy down, his expression consistently deadly. His upper lip curled slightly in a threatening snarl. Then, he murmured in a low voice, his tone laced with a venomous quality, "And if you do anything out of bounds, I won't hesitate to kill you either."

Zane frowned. "Stubborn, aren't you? Well, I know how to cure you of that."

Standing, he turned towards a dresser, and opened a drawer. Chazz watched suspiciously as he dug around for a moment. Then, he watched as Zane pulled a long, slender, snake-like object out. He cracked it once, sending a chilling hiss through the air, then a large snap. Coiling it up in his hand, he turned back towards the ebony haired teen, his eyes glowing with an otherworldly quality.

Before Chazz had time to fully comprehend the situation, Zane grabbed the chain that was linked to the collar around his neck, yanking him up and nearly choking him. He pressed his forehead to Chazz's, his expression stony. Then, he threw him down to the floor, ripping his shirt off.

"You," He hissed through his teeth, "I can't wait to kill you. To hear your screams as you go to hell…To watch as your blood spills across the floor, staining it, tainting it with your irreconcilable sin. I hate you. I've hated you for so long…And I'll laugh when your family grieves your well-earned death. And I'll laugh twice as hard when they promptly forget of you! Ah, yes, the rewards are many and the stakes are few. Your sacrifice will give me all the more power as a duelist…I'll be able to achieve revenge, enjoy your suffering, and obtain more power…It's too good to pass up. Victory is the only thing I live for. Victory is the only thing that matters…that and crushing your opponent! Victory is the only thing I respect. I don't respect people like you. You're nothing to me. Completely worthless in every way."

"What's wrong with you?" Chazz snapped, his eyes flashing with rage and he strained against the chains, "Are you really this much of a sadist? No, this isn't you. You've grown steadily worse. What, have you sold your soul to the devil or something? Because you sure are acting the part."

"You just now figured out that I'll do anything? What a fool." He put his foot on Chazz's back, slamming him to the ground. Then, he slung the thick cord in his hands around the other boy's neck, jerking his head roughly up, cracking his vertebrae slightly. "Boy, I don't care. I'm not the Zane you knew. I'm NOT Zane…He lives in me, but I've shoved him into the back. The only reason I let you know is because I intend to kill you. And I wish to keep this a secret so I can take advantage of every opportunity Zane has. Really, he is no more than a pawn to me. He was foolish enough to use me in a duel…I promised him ultimate power…and now he will receive none."

Chazz's eyes widened. "Wh-who are you then?!"

'Zane' grinned impishly. "I am the spirit from a Duel Monsters' card…I am Relinquished! He ritual summoned me at my command…at an Underground duel when Mr. Shroud gave him a different deck to mix things up. And then, I promised him glory if he would let me take control of his soul. And he did…"

"You mean to tell me that Zane's been doing these Underground duels for awhile?" Chazz asked, horrified.

'Zane' nodded. "Longer than you think. He couldn't gain the proper satisfaction from regular duels. So he turned to his darker tendencies to satisfy that need in him…The need to hurt and be hurt. The need to control something. The need to regulate life and death. And none of you were sharp enough to notice…Then again, he's always been that way, so…It doesn't make much of a difference."

Chazz opened his mouth then closed it. Then he opened it again. "So he has no control?"

"None at all. Why do you think I am called 'Relinquished?' He relinquished control to me. How ironic," He laughed softly, "that he wanted to control his life yet gave that up to me for victory's sake. Of course, that does not mean that I don't have proper access to his emotions and desires…and he has a special one for you…Which is why I shall enjoy every second of tormenting you before I carry it out."

"Wh-what do you mean?!" Chazz demanded to know, trying desperately to remain strong. However, his façade was crumbling quickly.

"Oh, you'll see." He replied, smiling wryly, "This'll only hurt a little…But with each lick of my whip, the more power I'll derive from your screams and your pain."

Before Chazz had a chance to respond, 'Zane' pulled his arm back, and, with a quick flick of the wrist, had ever so gracefully landed a sharp lash to Chazz's bare shoulder. He could not help but cry out in surprise at the sudden pain. 'Zane' pulled back again and repeated the action. Lash after lash followed, until the teen's back was bloody and raw. Crimson streaks flowed down, trickling around to his stomach and dripping to the floor. 'Zane' laughed at this sight.

"Oh, the beauty of your very life force seeping from your veins and leaving you…With each drop lost, you die a little more. Slowly, painfully…I must have more." He licked his lips in anticipation for the next blow, which he swiftly inflicted to the tender flesh.

As much as Chazz tried to suppress the screams, he couldn't help it. The searing heat of pain shot through his veins, throbbing throughout his entire body in a sickening rhythm. He wasn't sure if he would be able to withstand the entire beating. It lasted a good fifteen minutes. And when it was finally over, he was reduced to a weak, torn up child curled up on the carpet. His body was covered in hot blood and cold sweat, his breaths came in short, sharp gasps.

"Now, time for the real fun. There's no way you'll be able to resist it. And Zane's inner anger that will result from this…it will give me all the more power."

Chazz was too exhausted to answer. He hung limply from the other boy's arms as he was scraped from the floor. 'Zane' unlocked the bonds, then re-locked them to the bedposts. He shoved Chazz down to the bed, watching in satisfaction as crimson stained the snow white sheets. Chazz's mind was too fogged up to understand what was going on. He could only lie helplessly amongst the bedcovers and breathe heavily, trying to endure the suffering. Even when 'Zane' ripped his pants and boxers from his damaged body, he still failed to realize his fate. It was only when 'Zane' began to remove his own clothes that he understood.

"No!" He panted, weakly shoving the pale hands away from his exposed flesh. He curled his legs up, trying to protect himself.

'Zane' grabbed him around the neck and slammed his head against the bed railing several times. Not hard enough to knock him out, just hard enough to make him be still. However, Chazz continued to struggle. Finally, he just ignored the younger boy's thrashing and shoved his legs apart. Chazz protested loudly. He screamed and kicked and flailed, trying to roll away. But 'Zane' held him still, keeping him in place. Bitter fear and desperation filled Chazz's dark eyes as he began to hyperventilate. It did no good.

'Zane' shoved a finger in Chazz's entrance. The younger boy winced and yiped. He continued to thrash and struggle. If he could help it, he would not allow this to happen. Despite his efforts, though, 'Zane' got another finger in. He stretched Chazz's opening a bit before slipping a third finger in.

"You'd better be glad I'm at least preparing you," He hissed hotly in Chazz's ear.

"Stop it!" Chazz snarled, bucking wildly, trying to escape.

"Not on your life. You're only hurting yourself by resisting," He told the boy, glancing down. "Be still."

"No!" Chazz shouted, trying desperately to move away enough to separate the fingers from his body.

'Zane' did not respond. He didn't need to. It was obvious who was in charge of this situation. And he wasn't going to let his prize get away so easily. Cursing a bit under his breath, he positioned himself. Chazz continued to fight. He tried to grasp 'Zane' by the shoulders and hold him off, but it proved to be futile. The chains withheld him. In sheer desperation, he began to scream for help, just in case someone, anyone was left.

"It's all of no avail," 'Zane' hissed, grabbing his face and forcing him to stare up into his teal eyes, "Everyone's gone now…They've all evacuated. Zane's the only one who can hear you. I can feel his soul screaming to me, begging me not to do this deed…He's in agony. It makes me feel so…good." He leaned down and touched the tip of his tongue to Chazz's cool skin, tracing it along his jaw line.

Chazz squeezed his eyes shut and flinched. He gritted his teeth and willed it to come. It was going to happen anyway. Why must the apprehensive torment last so long? Why could he just not get it over with? Well, at the very least, he wasn't a virgin. Now, he was more than glad that he'd slept with Alexis first. Thinking about her again filled his already darkened soul with the utmost sorrow. He felt as though he'd betrayed her. He felt as though it was his fault. He should've been more careful. He should've known better. But, it was too late for that now.

'Zane' licked his lips, his eyes filled with avarice at the sight of the squirming boy's pale body beneath him. He captured Chazz's lips in a lust-induced kiss, inflicting all the more excruciation on the boy. Chazz turned his head, trying to break the seal. But 'Zane' merely snapped his face back towards his own, as he slipped his poisoned tongue betwixt the pale folds of skin, searching the moist interior. Weak from blood loss and thoroughly exhausted, Chazz gave up his fight. His body tensed, but fell back to the mattress. He lay still, staring up at the ceiling, his eyes almost as lifeless as 'Zane's.'

Seeing that the boy had given up his struggling, 'Zane' smirked. He broke the kiss and stared down at Chazz momentarily. Chazz averted his gaze elsewhere. His face was expressionless, void of any emotion. Wondering how he'd react, 'Zane' lifted his hand and dealt a sharp smack to the other boy's cheek, leaving behind a generous red mark. Chazz merely clenched his teeth and breathed deeply, refusing to give 'Zane' the satisfaction of seeing how hurt he was.

'Zane' beat him for a few minutes, then, satisfied, grabbed Chazz's creamy thighs and shoved his legs even farther apart. In response, Chazz gritted his teeth and prayed to be spared of the experience. It was not to be so. 'Zane' guided his shaft carefully, then shoved it roughly into Chazz's opening. He sucked in his breath sharply, refusing to scream in pain. His fingers dug into the sheets, tearing at them in desperation. The pain was immense. He never had thought that anything could cause so much suffering. The worst part was that 'Zane' didn't even care how he felt. He only thrust roughly in and out, not in order to pleasure himself, but rather to hurt Chazz to the maximum. Chazz just wished it was over. He just wished he could somehow bring the real Zane back. Whether or not he was still Hell Kaiser, Chazz didn't care. He just wanted his friend to be normal again.

"Bitch," 'Zane' hissed, smacking him across the face again, "Why do you insist on being so obstinate? Why do you insist on remaining silent? Does it not hurt enough? Well, then, I guess I'll have to try harder."

Having said this, he began to thrust more violently. Chazz took a deep breath and held it, clutching the sheets in his fists and shaking. Sweat ran cold along with his blood. But what he found the most sickening about the whole matter was his bodily reaction. He hated that he had obtained an erection. He hated the fact that pre-cum was already coating his length. But worst of all was the electric pleasure that shot through his nerves every time 'Zane' hit his prostate. It hurt worse than he could imagine. But it felt deliciously wonderful at the same time. It made him feel so wrong. It made him feel so wicked and sinful. Glancing down, he watched in horror as 'Zane's' length emerged, covered in blood. It was too much for him to bear. He closed his eyes as hot tears stung, threatening to fall. He almost wished to die.

The entire time that 'Zane' had sex with him, he alternated between beating the boy and giving him passionate kisses. Chazz gave up trying to hold back, and allowed himself to scream and cry as much as he wanted. Maybe at least 'Zane' would be satisfied with the reaction and stop. Or at least be gentler with him. However, 'Zane' had other ideas. He was going to finish it, and inflict as much pain as possible. Chazz began to consider attempting to kill the boy once it was over.

"You feel that?" 'Zane' whispered hoarsely in his ear, grabbing his face and digging his nails into his cheeks, "You're about to cum, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. You like it. How disgusting of you!"

Chazz bit his lip, shaking his head. He did NOT like it in the least. But maybe he was wrong. Maybe he was disgusting. And 'Zane' was right about one thing: he couldn't stop it. He let out a final scream as he felt the tightening sensation. Disgusted, he watched as he coated 'Zane's' abs in a filmy fluid. He wanted it to stop. He just wanted it to be over. But 'Zane' hadn't finished yet. Chazz had to endure a painfully long five minutes until the other finally came, spilling his liquid inside of him. Then, he tore away from the younger boy and slammed his head into the bed railing again and again.

"Please…" Chazz begged, "Just stop already…Haven't you done enough?" By this point, he was sobbing. It was all he could do to keep from screaming again. He was unbearably sore. He felt as though someone had shoved a sword into his stomach.

'Zane' opened his mouth to sneer at him. Suddenly, the smug expression dropped from his features. He grimaced and clutched his chest, gasping for breath. Chazz was more than grateful for the sudden attack. He couldn't help but be concerned, though. After all, the true Zane was stuck somewhere in the recesses of his mind. He didn't want anything bad to happen to his friend.

This attack was particularly bad, considering that he'd increased his heart rate quite a bit. He hunched over, rocking back and forth slightly, groaning and panting. Something about it caused the monster within him to retreat to the depths of his mind. Zane lay still for a moment. This worried Chazz. What if he'd died? He stared down at the other boy with wide eyes, his face wet with tears and sweat.

"Z-Zane?" He swallowed hard, gripping the sheets, shaking violently.

"Ch-Chazz…" Zane raised his head, his eyes filled with agony and remorse. His expression, normally stoic, was now sorrowful. He reached out and touched Chazz's knee, pulling himself closer. "I didn't mean…I'm sorry…"

Seeing that Zane had returned to normal momentarily, Chazz relaxed. However, he kept his guard up to some degree. Who knew when Zane would switch back to 'Relinquished.'

"It's Ok," Chazz laughed shakily, fresh tears sliding down his face.

Zane unlocked him from the chains, then grabbed him in a tight hug. "Please forgive me," He murmured, squeezing his eyes shut, "I couldn't control It…It just took over me…I never meant for my own quest and vaulting ambition to lead to this…I never meant to kill…"

Chazz looked down, knowing what he meant. "You mean…you killed me from the inside…" He said in a trembling whisper, despite his efforts to control his voice and regain his composure. He was far too shaken.

"You'd…better leave while you can," Zane groaned, hunching over again, "Before It returns…Just leave me. I can take care of myself."

"But you can't!" Chazz protested, "Forget what you did, Zane! Forget about it! I can't let you _die_."

"It's better if I die," Zane panted, sweat breaking out on his forehead, "Because if I do…then no one will have to worry anymore. And I won't have to suffer anymore either. I've already achieved all I wanted. And now it's going too far. I only wanted power in dueling. I only wanted victory. But this…I can't even control myself. I can't even derive the satisfaction of my victories because they are not mine. I'm going to die anyway…My heart is weak. Now, leave me to die…while you still can…"

"But…" Chazz protested, grabbing Zane's arms and trying to pull him to his feet. He winced as he stood, his head spinning. "I'm going to help you whether you like it or not! Whether you think we're friends or not!"

"We're…not…friends," Zane spat, clutching his chest tighter, "We haven't been since that day…I don't need friends anyway. I can make my own way. I don't need your pitiful charity. I can help myself. I know what I'm doing; so damn it, leave!"

"Zane!" Chazz shouted, only to be pushed roughly away.

"Get out…It's taking over…I must…take it to the grave…with me…" He hunched over, panting, "If only…I could've had one duel…just one duel in my right mind…Just one more time with the electrodes…Just one more victory…"

As he watched Zane, Chazz realized that it was hopeless. 'Relinquished' was returning. He had to leave. Zane was going to die no matter what. It was what he wanted. It was best that Chazz just give into Zane's dying wish. So, he dressed as quickly as his damaged body would allow, then stumbled out into the hall.

Dizziness overwhelmed him. He could not go on. His knees buckled, and he crumpled to the floor. Yes, he had been tough. Yes, it had taken every last ounce of willpower and energy he had left to even get this far. The pain was too great. He could endure no longer. He would die on the floor. It was just as well, though. He hadn't been able to help Zane. There was nothing he could've done to save Zane or himself. And he'd allowed himself to be raped. He couldn't face Alexis' pain over it. If he died…he wouldn't have to look into those amber eyes and whisper those two words: 'I'm sorry.' He wouldn't have to watch her cry. Perhaps she was better off with Jaden. He would never have sex with another guy. How despicable of him to cheat on Alexis with _Zane_ of all people. Her lover and her boyfriend. How disgusting. How sick. How wrong. He deserved everything that was happening to him. He deserved to be in agony. He deserved…to die. If only he'd gotten a second chance…Well, at least he'd done one thing right by sending Alexis and Jaden away. He certainly wouldn't have been able to forgive himself if Zane had raped her again. That was, if he even had in the first place.

Curling up in a ball, Chazz let his consciousness slide. The room was spinning so very fast…he was going to fly off the surface of the earth. And then the room was rocking back and forth too…It grew darker and more confusing. He felt blind and stupid. He didn't even know what was real anymore. So he just let it all go…

* * *

Alexis sat on the edge of the bed, watching Jaden pack a few bags. She didn't question his actions, only accepted it. After all, they might end up stranded somewhere on their way back. Their only way back, after all, was Chazz's yacht in the harbor nearby. And who knew what might happen on the way there? They might end up being attacked by people in alliance with the Underground or the Shadow Riders. And they had no means of defense. The only thing they could do was duel. Well, hopefully they were worrying over nothing and would make it back alive. Good luck at that.

"Well," Jaden sighed, throwing the suitcase up on the bed next to Alexis, "That's the last of it. I guess we should leave now."

Alexis nodded, numbly. She fidgeted, and wrung her hands in nervous anxiety. Jaden watched her for a moment, then sighed and put his hands on hers, to stop her from yanking so hard on her joints. She glanced up at him, her golden eyes meeting his chocolate ones. They stared for a moment, then Jaden slowly leaned in, causing her to recline. The next thing she knew, she was lying on her back with Jaden on top of her. He stared down at her, for once looking serious. Then, he laid his hand on the back of her head and brought it up, grazing his lips to hers. Her face reddened as he laid her head back down to the bed and cocked his head to one side, as though in thought. Finally, she could bear the silence no longer.

"What was that for?" She whispered.

His eyes softened. "In case we don't make it out alive. You just looked so sad…I had to do something. Please don't take it the wrong way, Lex. I'm not coming on to you. I just want to comfort you."

"Oh, Jay…" She sighed and threw her arms around his body, squeezing him tightly.

They clung to each other for a long time, trembling slightly. He leaned in and gave her tiny kisses all over her face, whispering to her that it would be all right, that he'd sacrifice anything to keep his promise to Chazz and to her. He told her he would keep her safe and the only way that anyone would hurt her would be if they killed him first. And Alexis knew he was speaking the truth. Jaden would do anything to protect his friends.

Finally, she pushed him away and sat up. "I'm going to be all right," She told him, standing and grabbing a suitcase, "But we really need to go now. We have to go see about Chazz…" She bit her lip and looked down at the floor.

Jaden nodded. "Gotcha."

He picked up the other suitcase, then led her to the door. They turned and took one final look at their safe haven before taking deep breaths. Then, they glanced at each other.

"Ready?" He asked with a weak smile.

She nodded, smiling just as wanly. "I'm ready for anything."

They opened the door and plunged into the hallway, never to look back again. There was no going back now. They couldn't so much as look back. If they did, then they might regret their rash, impulsive decision. But it had to be done. They had to save Chazz. Little did they know that they would never make it to the Academy. They had company waiting for them at the dock…

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it was so crappy. DX Well, I hope that you understand what was up with Zane now…but that doesn't mean it's resolved yet. ARGH I realized though, he sounded so much like Haou…but…there are only so many ways that you can do evil. And all those ways are alike in Yu-Gi-Oh! DDX**

**Next time: Jaden and Alexis meet their contender at the dock, and find out the startling news about a revolution that's already begun. Also, Zane struggles with "Relinquished" and tries to win his own battles. But can he do it when his allies become his enemies?**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: I'm really not sure how I'm going to do this…In all honesty, my views on things have changed since I began to write this fic, and I've rather gotten myself into a big ass tangled mess. I have some idea of what I'm doing, most certainly but…at the same time, I'm really lost. I will continue this story to the end (though I think this IS the end) because I can't bear to leave it, and because I really do like it even though it's chock full of flaws to the highest, most mortifying degree. Please forgive me for the mistakes I make. I'll try to do better with the next Valentineshipping story I write. I'm so sorry…I'm so stuck…It does suck a lot, and don't even try to tell me it doesn't because I know it's true. I'm only finishing the story for my own sake, even though I'm not having fun writing it anymore. SO I can look back on my mistakes and know what not to do anymore. I'm really sorry for screwing it up. I just can't fix it. :facepalm:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own GX.**

* * *

Chapter 23:

The luggage lay scattered across the dock where it had been carelessly dropped. Water rippled and lapped calmly at the dock, reflecting the broken image of the two teens standing on top of it, mixing in the various colors of the sunset. All was still and quiet, but not in a peaceful sense. There was unrest in the air, a certain disturbance that chilled to the bone. And with good reason too. They were alone…they were cornered.

The cloaked figure in front of them stepped closer, his face concealed by shadow. His lips curved upwards in a cruel smirk. "Well, well, well, Jaden Yuki. I've been expecting you."

Jaden tensed, clenching his fists. "What do you want?" He asked, stepping a little bit in front of Alexis to shield her from any harm that might come her way.

The man laughed softly. "Since I need you to know anyway, I suppose now is a good enough time. I've been sent here to fetch you as a replacement. You see, one of our top duelists is quite ill. He might not make it through today, even. So our boss asked that we fetch you to duel for us. After all, you are such a good duelist."

Jaden stiffened all the more. "I don't work for anyone shady…"

"Well, it appears you have no choice." The man told him in a low voice, "Either you join us and help us get those Sacred Beast cards, or you and your little friend die."

"There's no way I'm going to let that happen; not in a million years!" Jaden told him, glaring. He reached in his bag and pulled out his duel disk. "Let's settle this with a duel. If I win, you have to promise that you'll stop all this and let Alexis and me go."

The other's smirk widened. "Sounds fair enough…I accept your challenge."

Alexis looked on, her mouth slightly agape. Was Jaden really planning on doing something like this without even asking for her help? She started to say something, but he sent her a look, signaling that she should be quiet. Not really knowing why, she followed his silent order, and stepped back to watch.

"All right," Jaden said, drawing, "I'll go first. I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600) in attack mode!" A monster with a blue helmet and body armor with accents of gold appeared on the field. "Next I lay a face down. That ends my turn."

"Are you serious?" The other man laughed, "Well, aren't you setting yourself up for defeat? Oh well, whatever works for you…As for me, I think I'll lay a monster in face down defense and lay another card face down…I end my turn."

Jaden stared down at the card, frowning slightly. He drew his card, then said, "I summon Elemental Hero Clayman in attack mode (800)!" A large, bulky brown monster with square shaped limbs appeared on the field. That was when he called his attack. "Clayman, attack his face down!"

The monster sped at the card, then pulled back his hand and punched the card. The card turned upwards, revealing Morphing Jar.

"Well, now that you've flipped my card, I activate its effect," The man said, "Now, we have to discard our hands and draw five more cards."

Sweat broke out on Jaden's brow. He stared down at his hand, then reluctantly discarded it to the graveyard, murmuring and apology. Then, he and his opponent drew five cards. His eyes dropped to see what he'd drawn. A small smile twitched his lips upwards.

"All right," He said, taking a deep breath, "Now that that's over with, Sparkman, attack his life points directly!"

"Not so fast." The stranger interrupted. He waved his hand to reveal his face down. "I play The Shallow Grave! This spell allows me to bring a monster back from the graveyard and place it in face down defense position." A card appeared on the field. "Of course, since we both discarded our hands earlier, you have no clue what I have on my field. And I will have no clue what you have on yours, if you sent a monster to the graveyard, that is."

Biting his lip, Jaden nodded and placed a card in the monster zone in face down defense.

"You see, this isn't going to be nearly as easy as you thought," the stranger smirked, "You underestimated me. Well, you're in for a tough fight, and I can assure you I won't let you get away. Either you come with me, or you die."

"But you said if I won, then you'd let us go!" Jaden protested, gripping his cards.

"Oh, did I really? Well, it's true. I will let you go," The other told him, laughing a little, "But I never said that you'd be alive…"

Alexis' eyes widened. She opened her mouth to tell Jaden to walk away, but she had a feeling that it was entirely out of her control. There was nothing she could do. This was Jaden's decision and his alone. All she could do was hang back and watch, and hope that he won. But the way that this duel was going just from the first two turns, that would be less than easy. She crossed her fingers and said a silent prayer that they would make it alive.

* * *

The tall, slender woman stepped off of the helicopter, her long, dark hair whipping against her face due to the force of the blades. She whipped her sunglasses off and scanned the horizon slowly with worried eyes. Seeing that the campus was vacant, she walked carefully towards the dorms, followed by a tall, built man. Both were dressed in business attire.

Neither spoke the entire way to the Obelisk Boys' dorm. They silently made their way past the front doors and up the stairs. It was eerily silent, save for the small creaks that came every then and again. Wandering down the hall, the stepped over debris and splintered furniture. Blood stains streaked across the walls, where a fight had obviously taken place. It was not the most comfortable atmosphere. Danger could be lurking around any corner…

Taking care to be quiet, the pair rummaged through the rubble, as though searching for something. The woman seemed to be becoming all the more desperate. The longer this went on, the more distressed she became. It had been bad enough that the rest of their rescue team had yet to arrive, but seeing the wrecked dorm made them feel as though it were too late. Perhaps things were hopeless.

Glancing around worriedly, the woman spotted a limp figure curled up under the staircase leading to the third floor. His face was concealed by shadow, but his presence was hope enough for her. Quickly, she rushed over to his side, and moved his face in the dim light as gently as possible. A small gasp came from her parted lips. Tears came to her dark eyes as she gently stroked the boy's cheek with the back of her hand. Then, taking his cool hand in her own, she kissed the knuckles and held it to her aching heart.

"I'm so sorry…" She whispered beneath her breath, "…Chazz."

Seeing that she'd found him, her husband quickly joined her by their son's side. The two looked down at him with pained expressions on their faces. Looking reluctant, the man reached out slowly and pressed his fingers on the inside of Chazz's neck. A look of confusion crossed his features. Glancing back over at his wife with wide eyes, he gave a quick nod, which quieted her crying. They both stared down at the boy in their arms, then at each other.

"It's a miracle…" the woman breathed.

"Let's hope it stays that way…" the man murmured, taking his son in his arms and lifting him, "Now, come on, let's get him to the hospital."

* * *

The dark figure shook his head in disgust at the sight in front of him. "Pathetic…"

Jaden's frown deepened. He clutched his cards tighter, trembling a little. "Don't call my monsters pathetic!"

"What can I say? I blew your Wildheart off the field last turn. You only have one card in your hand, and a face down. I have my Pragtical (1900) and Stone Dragon (2000) out on the field. There's not much you can do now."

Jaden shook his head. "It's not decided for sure…" He pointed out, "My turn is coming up."

"Face it, there's no way you can win this now," The man grumbled, "Just hurry up. We have work to do."

Refusing to reply to this, Jaden closed his eyes and drew a card. Opening them, he stared at the card in his hand. A slow grin crept across his face. "Just what I needed." Grinning wider, he said, "I play Pot of Greed. This, of course, lets me draw two cards. Next, I play my facedown Monster Reborn! This allows me to bring back a monster from my graveyard. And I choose Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (1200)!" A monster in tight red attire and pale blue skin appeared in front of him. "Next, I play Polymerization to fuse the Elemental Hero Avian from my hand with Burstinatrix to create Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (2100)!" Avian and Burstinatrix were replaced by a large, muscular red and green monster with a tail and a dragon as a hand. "But I'm not done yet…Now, I play the field spell Skyscraper, which raises my Wingman's attack to 3100!" Buildings rose up out of the cement and surrounded them, reaching up to a dark, starry sky.

"You think you can destroy me with that combo?" The man scoffed, "I don't think so. I have 3100 life points. How could you possibly pull through with that? Next turn I'll destroy you."

Jaden merely grinned cockily. "I attack your Stone Dragon with my Flame Wingman!"

The man watched in disgust as Flame Wingman sped towards the long, jagged snake-like monster on his side of the field. Before he could say anything demeaning, a burst of flame engulfed his monster, destroying it. His life points dropped to 2000.

"I'm still here!" He snorted.

Jaden shook his head. "Flame Wingman's special ability makes it so that your monster's attack points come out of your life points as damage."

"What?! Wait…!"

It was too late. The man screamed as fire licked away his last remaining life points. Jaden gave his trademark hand signal.

"And that's game!"

Before he could say anything more, the man lunged at him and grabbed him around the throat. Jaden struggled and frowned. He opened his mouth to protest, but his captor slapped a hand over it, shutting him up. Alexis moved forward to help Jaden, only to be shoved back roughly. She tripped over a pole and began to fall towards the water. Even though she tried to catch herself, it was too late. Right before she hit the choppy, rough surface, an arm reached out and caught her. Blinking, she looked up to see who her savior was. Her amber eyes widened.

"Z-Z-Zane!"

The teal haired duelist set her back on her feet, then glared, his hair blowing in the wind. "I'm not going to live much longer…" He grumbled, "So I figured I might as well make amends for what I've done."

"H-How did you know…I thought you were…"

"Just be glad I am here. I have overpowered that which controlled me for the time being. I've already dueled some of the important figures in the Underground and a few of the Shadow Riders that were trying to stop me. They led me here, really. Just followed the trail they left me. After all, they thought I was one of them." He frowned slightly as he looked over at the man, who had just knocked Jaden unconscious and was carrying him away.

Quickly, Zane and Alexis lunged forwards and jumped in his path, their arms outstretched. The man frowned deeply, then reached into his pocket, producing a knife. Smirking, he held the blade to Jaden's throat. Crimson surfaced from the small cut he made. Zane and Alexis froze.

"If you don't let me go," He hissed, "then I'll hurt him. I won't kill him yet since I need him but…I'll be sure to put him through a lot of pain, and eventually put an end to his life. You wouldn't want that, now, would you?"

Zane and Alexis glanced at each other. They had to do something; they couldn't let Jaden down. Finally, Zane reached into his jacket and pulled out the electrodes. Frowning deeply, he flung it at the man. The stranger didn't have a chance. Even if the electrode landed on the concrete a few feet away from him, he was not spared. Electricity shot out of the collar, striking the man dead on. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one hit. Alexis' hands clamped over her mouth as the man dropped Jaden, clutching his chest. Apparently, Zane hadn't been the only one indulging in these sorts of risky games.

"You don't think you hurt Jaden too badly, do you?" She asked worriedly.

Zane muttered something under his breath in response. Instead of wasting any more time, she hurried over to Jaden's side and pulled him off the ground. He slumped against her shoulder, unresponsive. Realizing that he was badly injured from the shock as well as from the blow to the head he'd received, she dragged him away from the man's limp body and back towards the buildings.

"You take care of Jaden," Zane called, "I have some unfinished business to take care of…" A wide smirk spread across his face. He might not be controlled by Relinquished at the moment, but that did not mean he was 'normal' again. No, it had been his choice to become what he had. And he could by no means turn back.

Alexis knew she had no choice. If she tried to assist in the situation any more, Jaden might die. She had to help by staying strong and taking Jaden to get medical assistance. She didn't really know where Zane had come from or why, she was just glad he was there to take care of their enemy. So, she dragged Jaden away, not even looking back over her shoulder at the scene behind her.

Rushing down an alley, she set Jaden down to rest. Panting, she whipped out her cell phone and began to dial furiously. She had to get help for Jaden and for Zane. Really, she could've beaten herself up over not having done this earlier. Well, no matter. She had the chance then. She might as well use it. So, she hurriedly explained the situation and where they were to the emergency officials.

As she waited for the ambulance, she held Jaden's head in her lap, gently stroking his hair. She felt horrible for him. Why had she not done more to try to help him? Why had she stepped back and let him get hurt like that? If only she had done more…if only she hadn't let him take charge…Then maybe she would be the one hurt instead and he'd be all right. If only she'd done more to protect him, too. After all, they had been after Jaden…It would've been only fair if she had done something to help him. He'd always been there for her when she was in trouble. She felt quite ashamed.

Her fingers dropped to his face, where they lingered. Hanging her head, she reprimanded herself. As she watched him, she noticed his eyelids beginning to flutter. Leaning down closer, she swallowed hard, every fiber of her being tingling with anticipation and hope. Slowly, his dark eyes opened. He blinked in the dim light, his eyes half shut. A wry, weak smile played upon his lips. He looked almost angelic.

"Lex?" His voice was in a hushed whisper.

"What is it?" She asked in a tone just as soft. She took his face in the palm of her hand and fondled it, looking down at the brunet in her lap with concern.

He winced slightly as he shifted his weight. "You don't have to be so concerned. I'm all right. Just a little…sore. Just a little…drained."

"But, Jay, I'm afraid you've been badly injured!" She protested, biting her lip.

"No, no, no, I'll be just fine. It's not that bad, really. It looks a lot worse than it is." He tried to sit up, only to collapse back down. "Ugh..."

"You can't be all right!" She protested, "You were shocked with electricity. And I suspect it killed the other guy. We have to make sure that you're going to be Ok. All right?"

Too tired to respond, he merely closed his eyes. A lengthy sigh escaped his lips. Alexis sat still, gently petting his hair until she heard the sound of the siren in the distance. A wave of relief washed over her. They were going to be Ok….At least, she hoped so. Giving Jaden a little nudge, she began to straighten up.

"Come on, Jay. I'm going to help you up, all right?"

"Ok," Groaning, he lifted himself slowly off the ground.

Alexis helped him out to the ambulance. He could barely make it. For the most part, she had to drag him. The medics took Jaden from Alexis' arms, and loaded him onto a stretcher. Jaden reached out and grabbed her hand, refusing to let go.

"Please come with me…" He implored weakly, his eyes sparkling a little with hopefulness.

She looked at the medics desperately. "Can I come please?"

Looking at each other, they finally grumbled something and nodded. So, she climbed into the back of the ambulance with them, holding Jaden's hand tightly. He squeezed back with a vise-like grip, his eyes shut. Alexis knew that he wasn't exactly scared; he just didn't like this in the least. He just needed to be reassured. Since he'd done so much for her already, she felt like this was a small way that she could repay him. They didn't talk, but they didn't need to. Holding hands in silence was enough. They had too much weighing on their minds to concentrate. Both were upset. Both were worried. Their lives had been crashing down around them for the past several months, and then…this. Was this really the end of it all? Were they going to end up being hunted down and killed mercilessly? It seemed inevitable. It seemed as though they had reached an impasse. Maybe the only thing they COULD do was face the reality, and accept it. They could not run. They could not hide. What was the point of trying anymore? Exhaustion had worn their wills thin. It was time to give up the fight.

* * *

When Chazz woke up, he found that he was tucked between crisp, snow white sheets in a private hospital room. Blinking in the sunlight that poured in through the large window, he tried to sit up, only to feel ripping pain shoot through his sides and stomach. Immediately, he eased back down. Looking at his arm, he noticed several needles from I.V.s stuck into his skin. He frowned and looked at the various scars and stitches that were scattered across his body. It was a wonder he was even still alive. How long had he been passed out? Days? Weeks? _Months_? It must have been a miracle of some sort…He was a very lucky person.

Somehow, he felt as though he could not remember all that had happened. For some reason, he felt as though he just knew when he'd come there, but he wasn't sure. Perhaps he was half conscious when he'd been moved to this room. He didn't know. All that he could remember was a blur of confusing murmurs and the feeling of floating down a hall. It could have been a dream. He just couldn't be sure.

He continued to survey his surroundings. There was a television across from him, mounted on the wall. Off to his left, there was a little white nightstand with drawers. On the walls adjacent to and across from his bed were a few green chairs where visitors might sit. There was a sink near the doorway with a narrow mirror and fluorescent lighting over it. And there was a small dresser next to the sink. Right next to the door was the entrance to the bathroom. Well, it was a rather small, in his opinion, but at least he was alone.

Having taken his environment in, he stared up at the ceiling to contemplate his friends. He really hoped that they were all right. Specifically, Alexis. If she were hurt or worse…he didn't know what he'd do then. He'd sacrifice anything to make sure she was safe. Unfortunately, he had no clue where she was, or who she was with. If all had gone well, then she was with Jaden at the moment. He wished he could contact her, but wasn't sure if he could reach for the phone. She must be worried sick…He had to let her know that he was all right! Desperately, he stretched his arm as far as it would go, trying to grab the phone. Even though the strain hurt, he eventually managed to snatch it. Licking his lips a little, he dialed her cell phone number. Hopefully, she would pick up and not some moron who had killed her and dumped her body into the bay…No, he mustn't think like that. It stabbed at his heart to think such things. All he could do for the moment, though, was wait and hope…

On the fourth ring, he heard the familiar click that meant that someone had picked up. His anticipation rose, until he heard a female voice answer.

"Hello?"

A wave of relief washed over him. It was her, which meant that a moron hadn't killed her and dumped her body in the bay. "Hey…It's me…"

There was a long pause. He swallowed hard as he heard the static disrupting the signal. It was the only sound that could be heard.

Finally, she responded. "Ch-Chazz? Is that really you?"

"Yeah, of course." He rolled his eyes a little. "Surely you recognized my voice."

"Well, yes, it's just…I didn't believe it was really you," She sighed a little, "I was so afraid you'd died…I mean, I wasn't able to call or come see you, and no one was telling us anything about the situation. I've been worried sick about you. I'm so glad you're all right…"

"Well, I'm not exactly all right," Chazz muttered grimly, "I got really hurt but…I'm in the hospital right now so they'll probably see to it that I don't die. I'm sore as hell but…they probably have me on enough painkillers so that it's not excruciating. It's a wonder I'm even able to talk to you! I don't know how, I'm just glad I am. Where are you, by the way?"

There was a slight pause. Then: "I'm at Jaden's house."

Another pause. "Oh…I see…So you guys made it all right?"

"Yeah, we had someone come after us but…Zane took care of them." She explained.

He quirked an eyebrow. "Zane? No kidding! I wonder how he found you exactly?"

"Well, it has a lot to do with the fact that the other guys thought he was going to follow along with their plan, but he didn't. And he already had the information I guess. Just no telling how he got here so quickly…"

"Yeah…" Chazz scratched his head a little. He couldn't understand how Zane seemed to have recovered so quickly! Or maybe he hadn't…maybe it had all been an act. "Have you seen Zane since?"

There was a lengthy sigh. "No, I haven't heard from him at all. I keep trying to call him and all I get is voicemail. He won't pick up. And I don't know where he is either. When the police arrived, they just said they found a dead body and some blood smeared on the dock trailing in the opposite direction of the body. Zane was gone. Who knows where he went? I'm just worried that he might've gotten hurt and crawled off to die or something. I really hope that's not the case…"

Chazz swallowed hard. "I'm sure it's not…I'm sure he's all right. But…how are you and Jaden now?"

"We're all right," Alexis replied, sighing, "But he did get hurt. He's better now, though. MUCH better. Too bad…we had to lose so many…" At this, her voice faltered. It sounded as though she were choking back a sob.

"What's the matter?" Chazz asked, suddenly concerned.

"Chazz…" She swallowed hard, her breaths coming in short gasps as she tried to hold back her tears, "I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news but…I am happy to hear from you, I really am. It's just…part of the reason that I'm living with Jaden's family is because I can't bear to live in my own house…I can't bear to walk by my brother's room…"

Dread rose from the pit of his stomach. "What happened?"

"Chazz…" She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Please be strong for me when I tell you this…I know you've been through a lot; so have I. It's just that…I can't handle anymore pressure or stress. I'm already seeing a therapist as it is. Please don't be the one to send me over the edge."

Chazz licked his lips nervously, his hand beginning to shake a little as his grip around the receiver tightened. "All right. I promise. I won't do or say anything to upset you. Go ahead."

"Atticus…my dear brother Atticus…he's…dead…"

Shock washed over Chazz. He could not do anything but stare into space for a moment, his lips quivering as he tried to find his voice to speak. Finally, he said very quietly, "I'm so sorry…"

Another heavy sigh. "He died the same day that I last saw Zane…the same day that they came for Jaden…His heart just gave out on him. They did everything they could, but…it wasn't enough. It's my fault…If only I'd been a better sister, if only I'd be more attentive, this would've never happened. I grew weak…I didn't help him at all. I only focused on my own selfish pain…Do you think he could ever forgive me? That he would understand that I'm sorry I couldn't help him?" By then, she wasn't even struggling to hold it back anymore. He could hear her crying softly.

"It's not your fault," Chazz murmured softly, "I mean, what could you have done? You were there for him…you cared for him and loved him. That's all that mattered to him, I think. It's Ok…"

She sniffed a little. "I-I'm sorry. But I really want to come see you right now. I have to make sure that you don't leave me like Atticus or Zane did…like Jaden almost did…Can I come see you?"

"Of course," He responded immediately. Then, frowning a bit, he told her, "Just let me handle to nurses. They probably won't want you to see me. But it's important. Leave it all to me."

"Thank you, Chazz. I'm sorry to be a burden…I just want to see with my own eyes that you're going to be all right…I want to maybe help you…I want to be there for you."

"All right. I'll see you in a few minutes then."

With that, she hung up. Chazz stared at the receiver in his hand for a moment, still stunned. His hand shook a bit, until he finally put the phone back on its holder. Then, he leaned back against the pillows and stared up at the ceiling thoughtfully. After all that'd occurred, there was no way he could tell Alexis he'd been raped. She'd been through far too much. Whether he liked it or not, he would have to act normally, even if she made him uncomfortable. Guilt stabbed at him. He figured he should tell her, since she deserved to know, since it was partially his fault it had happened. But, first, he'd have to wait for her to calm down. It might be years before he revealed the truth to her. In the meantime, he decided that they should take things slower. It had been terribly foolish for them to rush into that type of relationship. And it had been because he'd been willing to accept any and all affection from her. Well, at that point, he was kicking himself for being so stupid. He regretted it with all his heart. Although it had comforted them for the time being, it had been quite damaging too. And he was feeling the effects of it. Part of him never wanted to have sex again. It might have been because of Zane, true, but he just didn't think it was worth it. He felt as though they'd lost their closeness on account of it. They didn't talk like they had. They'd lost their innocence and their platonic relationship. Perhaps he was just getting upset in hindsight. Whatever the case, he figured he might as well just go along with the flow until she was stable enough to talk things out. He would do anything that she needed him to do. She was his first and only priority.

So that was what true love was. Caring about a person so deeply that it didn't matter whether or not he could get her in bed. He didn't want it anymore. All he wanted was for her to care about him the way that he cared for her. And if he couldn't have that, then he only wished for her happiness. He'd do anything to comfort her. He'd do anything that she needed him to do. That's when he knew he hadn't loved her before like he'd thought he had. He hadn't respected her like he should've. It just made him want to beat his head against the wall, telling himself how _stupid_ he'd been.

Instead, he remembered to call the front desk and inform them of Alexis' planned visit. They were less than happy about this, since he was far from well, but they could not do much. He was rich and he had connections, not to mention his father's company funded the hospital. So, they had no choice but to agree to it. However, before the visit, they did look him over since he'd just woken up. He didn't take too kindly to this, but allowed it. After all, he had to make sure he got better for Alexis' sake.

The anxiety built inside of him the entire time he waited. He tossed and turned in the bed, though it hurt quite a bit to do so. Thankfully, before he could hurt himself too badly, Alexis arrived. She slipped through the cracked door and closed it softly behind her, then tip-toed over to one of the chairs, pulling it up to the bed and seating herself comfortably in it. Gingerly, she laid her hand on his shoulder and shook him a little.

"Chazz?"

He peered over his shoulder at her, looking grim. Finally, he propped himself up using the pillows, though he winced as he did so. "Hey, Lex."

She smiled wanly at him, her eyes filled with gentle sorrow and hurt to the deepest level. Yet, there was something different about the way she looked at him. She looked somewhat sympathetic, somewhat apologetic. "Well, here we are…" Her eyes dropped to the hands that lay folded in her lap.

"Yeah…" Chazz stared down at his lap as well, swallowing hard.

There was a long, awkward pause. Nothing was exchanged between the two. They merely sat and stared down, not daring to look at the other. Alexis drummed her fingers on the armrest of her chair, biting her lip and taking a deep, shaky breath. Chazz wrung his hands a bit, twisting the sheets up in balls, squeezing then releasing. He let out a lengthy sigh. Moments dragged by at an agonizingly slow pace.

"I'm sorry." The statement was spoken out of nowhere. It was blunt.

Chazz's eyes flickered up, filled with surprise. "For what?"

"For doing what I did…" She murmured, still staring at her skirt, "For behaving so idiotically. For getting you tangled up in this whole mess. For acting like a slut. I never meant for this to play out the way it did. I never meant to lose my discretion like that. To tell the truth, I regret everything I did with every day of my life now. I just…don't know what got into me. That I should…think and act so impulsively. That I should be so dependant on you…Not only was it against everything I'd ever stood for, but it was also a burden to you. I hurt you; don't deny it. I never meant to hurt one of my closest friends. And now we've lost everything…and everyone basically. I've already apologized to Jaden and he's apologized to me. We all kind of lost our heads…I don't know…what we were thinking. I'm really sorry…It was stupid because…we have different paths we're going to take in life…"

Chazz chewed on his bottom lip nervously, squeezing his eyes shut. "I know, Lex, I know…I was an idiot too…I'm really sorry too…It's all right. We all made mistakes. We all made really poor choices. And if you could forgive me…then perhaps we could put all this behind us…"

"It's not that simple!" Alexis protested so vehemently, it caused Chazz to jump in surprise, "I'm sorry, but it just isn't. I can't just walk away like that. You're the first and only person I've ever gotten intimate with. Not to say that I don't want to ever do it again but…I don't want to do it anytime soon. It made me feel so sick, so wrong. It's too risky. It hurt me and it hurt you. I should've waited…instead of going by how I felt…I don't know what got into me to make me do that, to make me believe that it was actually all right. I've always thought otherwise. I just don't want it to be this way…Please understand what I mean…"

Chazz nodded weakly. Then: "Is that why you needed to see me?"

Alexis sighed heavily. "Yes, it's been killing me…these past few days…I can't think of anything else, now that everything's over and done with. I'm still not sure if it's entirely done as far as the Shadow Riders and the Underground is concerned but…it's almost like they disappeared so…I've just felt calmer and safer and had time to think about this. And you know, I've matured since the last time we talked. I know you have too. It's written all over your face that you feel exactly the same. We can't look back; we can't revoke what we've done. All we can do is keep going on. And since there's nowhere to go but the future, and since we've already done so much…I think it's best that we just…not get involved with anyone else. You can do what you want. But that's my own opinion."

"So, what are you saying? That you just want us to be friends again or…" He trailed off, wanting to smack himself for inserting his wistful thinking during such a painfully crucial situation. It was too delicate for that!

She gave a little groan and held her head in her hands. "I don't know…I think…we should stick together, like we've already decided. We have no choice and you know that. So…I think we should just make it official…"

"You want to be my girlfriend?" He asked, surprised. His breath caught in his throat as he said that. For a brief moment, excitement overwhelmed him. When she nodded, he started to smile, then pushed it down and looked serious again. Something didn't feel right. Even if he wanted this, even if he'd wanted it more than anything else in the world…there was something missing. If she didn't love him…then they should not do this. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and did what he thought was right for once. "We can't…"

"Why not?" There was a definite hint of shock in her voice.

"Because you don't love me…" He told her, breathing deeply.

"Love isn't everything," She argued, frowning, "We should've thought of that earlier. And now we both have to face the consequences. Either you take my offer or leave it. You won't get it again…And perhaps then we'll never be able to make right what we've done wrong. Ultimately, I did plan on marrying you…"

Chazz hesitated. What she was saying made sense. He wasn't sure, but in this case, perhaps happiness and love were NOT the ideals. It was what was right. They had to be responsible for their actions. Walking away was the wrong thing to do. "All right…" He sighed, "All right…I understand what you're saying. I'll marry you."

He kept his eyes closed. Part of him was ecstatic. Part of him was melancholy. He wanted to make HER happy. But if she was going to be miserable with him…

To his surprise, she leaned over and captured him in a tight hug, squeezing him close. He hesitated, then returned the warm embrace. She crawled up on the bed and knelt next to him, burying her nose in his collarbone. They sat like that for a long time, just holding each other, not saying anything. Finally, he dared to ask another question.

"Does this mean we're engaged?"

She held him at arms' length, her amber eyes wide with surprise. Then, she nodded.

"I guess I'll have to get you a proper ring later then," He told her, smiling weakly.

She smiled back, though tears sprung to her eyes. He reached up and brushed them away, feeling his own eyes watering. His face turned a little red. There was no way he wanted her to see him upset like that. It was just humiliating! But then too, everything that had happened that day was finally sinking in. He was deeply upset by the news of Atticus' death. After all, the brunet had been one of his closest friends. And to think…his life had been cut short! It was then that he made a silent vow. He would never allow any organization like that to get out of hand. He wouldn't allow them to take his friends ever again.

He looked back up at Alexis, wondering how far she did want to take their relationship. Perhaps for the time being, they could just hug and hold hands. He wasn't sure if he wanted to take it any farther. Just this bit of embracing was making him uncomfortable. He didn't want to tell her but…at the same time, he felt panic rising inside of him. He tried to tell himself that she would respect him, but he was still worried.

Noticing the expression on his face, she released him and looked him in the eyes. "What's wrong?"

He frowned and shook his head. "I'll tell you later…" He grumbled, pulling the sheets up closer over himself. "I don't want to talk about it right now."

She didn't press him any further, merely slipped off of the bed, her cheeks burning a little. Sitting by his bedside, she patted his hand and sighed. "You know something, Chazz?"

"What?" He grumbled, beginning to feel depressed and exhausted.

Leaning in his face, she smiled sadly down at him. Then, taking his face in her hands, she pressed her forehead to his, letting a few stray tears dribble on his nose. "What you said earlier…about me not loving you…"

"What about it?" He asked, shifting uncomfortably.

"That's not true…" She said quietly, looking a bit embarrassed, "It may sacrifice my pride to say this but…." At this point, she paused to take a deep breath and squeeze her eyes shut. "I love you. Very much."

Chazz could not say anything for a moment. He could only stare at her in disbelief. Finally, he placed his hands over hers, and offered a wan smile. "I-I'm glad…I love you too. And this time I really mean it."

"Well, then," Alexis sighed, "I suppose we won't regret this then."

"I promise you that we won't."

Chazz ruffled Alexis' hair a bit playfully before rolling over to go to sleep. He felt a good deal better then, though they still had plenty of issues to work out. Perhaps one day, everything would be all right. Perhaps one day, he could look back on his life and not regret anything he'd done. After all, he had the promise of hope for the future. He had found that he had more self control and understanding then he'd imagined. And although he'd made plenty of mistakes, he knew how to handle it. He knew that what he was doing was risky, but it could turn out for the better. Even though they had messed up badly and gotten off on the wrong foot, they could turn it around if they started over. They would abstain until marriage this time. They'd learned a hard lesson from it all. Perhaps it had all happened to teach them how to work together and put each other before their own desires. At least he knew how to treat his friends better. And he knew what he wanted to do with his life. Nothing was uncertain anymore. Everyone had been brought closer and learned the true meanings of trust and love, both romantically and platonic. From then on, things were looking up. A small smile played on his lips as he drifted off to sleep. He would not take what he had for granted ever again.

**The End**

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**A/N: DON'T kill me just yet. One word: EPILOGUE. It's gonna be a short semi-chapter. Meh, so…yeah…what'd you think? It was rushed, I know. But I didn't know what else to do. I actually kinda liked writing this chapter, though it was a pain at first…Still, I can't write it anymore cuz it makes me feel like D: And I've finished it so yeah…And if you say SEQUEL then I will say BUT I JUST FINISHED IT!! DDD: Maybe later. I don't know. I have too many other plans. I WILL write more valentineshipping because my interest has been renewed and I LOVE Chazz so much…:cough cough: Ok, this is NOT the time for a Chazz rant. Meh, anyway, read the next chapter. Review. Whatever. It doesn't matter if you do or not. It's OVER. XD**


	24. Epilogue

**A/N: Mmk I felt like showing what happened a few years later because I just thought it was fitting…and I wanted to show you guys how things wound up for them…Yeah, I know what you're thinking. "How cliché!" Hahaha…no shut up. I don't care. I wanted to do it. If you have a problem, you have EVERY right to click the little button and say so. I will politely listen and politely respond. But just know that I've learned from past mistakes now and have higher standards. I just had already botched it up, so I didn't care. No way to fix it. Bleh. So here ya go. This is for being good little readers like you are. Even if I have been a bitch and even if I have written a badfic. Whatever.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own GX. GIVE ME GX SO I CAN MAKE A FIFTH SEASON AND REPLACE 5DS PLZ. DX Actually, I would not mind 5Ds IF the GX characters were there too, ya know, sorta like a crossover? Man, there would be so many possibilities with that. TOO BAD THE WRITERS JUST RUSHED GX LIKE I RUSHED THIS FIC!! D: Ok rant over.**

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Epilogue:

Jaden stood on the stone doorstep of the small, Italianate style home. Palm trees blew softly in the breeze on either side of the house, the sun shone brightly down, baking the red tile roof. Humming softly to himself, he rang the doorbell again, and patiently awaited a response. After a moment, the door cracked open, revealing a tall, ebony haired man. His face lit up when he saw the former Slifer, then he leaned over and hugged him. Jaden hugged him back, before holding him at arms' length.

"It's good to see you're doing well, Chazz," the brunet said, smiling pleasantly.

"And how are you?" Chazz asked, inviting him inside and shutting the door. "I haven't seen you in so long…"

"I'm doing just fine," He replied, taking a seat on the beige sofa laying his bag down on the floor. "I'm really tired though. Say, where's Alexis?"

"She'll be down in a little bit," Chazz replied, "She was taking a nap. You know how tough her teaching job can be on her. Every time summer comes around, she just crashes."

Jaden nodded understandingly. "The fact that she teaches at Duel Academy must not be the easiest thing for you guys…having to be separated for all those months with you in the Pro Circuit and all."

He waved it off. "It's all right. It took a long time to get where we are today, but it's worth it. Even if I do have to wait about six months to live with her again. I'm not exactly lonely…"

Jaden laughed a little. "Well, that's because you still have the rest of your friends, right?" He brushed his shaggy hair out his eyes.

"Yeah, I guess so," Chazz sighed.

"There's always Aster and Jesse to keep you company in the Pro Circuit," Jaden reminded him.

"True," Chazz replied, "but…it's not the same without you…"

Jaden laughed again, shaking his head. "See? I told you we were best friends." He poked Chazz in the ribs playfully.

Frowning, Chazz pushed his hand away. "Oh, shut up, Jaden."

"So, how are things going between you and Alexis?" Jaden asked, smirking a little.

"They're fine," Chazz muttered, his face turning red, "But that's not really of you business anyway, slacker." He punched the brunet lightly in the arm. Over the years, this name had become more or less a term of endearment. It was a habit he had not broken.

"I've changed since high school, you know," Jaden pointed out, putting his feet up on the coffee table.

Chazz wrinkled his nose in disdain. "Not quite enough." He shoved at Jaden's legs, pushing his feet off the coffee table. "That's expensive, you know."

"Which is exactly why I did it," Jaden teased.

"How's your girlfriend?" Chazz asked, smirking widely.

Jaden's cheeks flushed with red. "How many times do I have to tell you that Yubel is not my girlfriend? I've already told you the story a bazillion times. I don't have a girlfriend. I'm not interested."

"Right…" Chazz punched him in the shoulder again. "You're so weird…I always knew you'd date a Duel Monster."

At that moment, Alexis appeared at the top of the stairs. Seeing Jaden, she hurried down them to greet him. He looked up at her, then flashed a grin. He jumped to his feet to engulf her in a tight embrace. She hugged him back just as tightly.

"It feels like it's been forever!" She told him, patting him on the back before releasing him.

"Seriously," Jaden agreed. "Oh, I have something for you." He reached into his bag and pulled out a small bouquet of flowers. Grinning sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his hair. "Sorry if it's a little crushed. But I felt like I couldn't come see you empty handed."

"Thank you!" She exclaimed, before rushing into the kitchen to put them in a vase.

"You are quite the charmer, you know that?" Chazz said grimly, giving Jaden the evil eye. Of course, he was simply playing around with the brunet, and Jaden knew this.

Alexis stuck her head back in the other room. "So, would you like to stay for dinner, Jay?"

"Well, I wouldn't want to burden you," He told her politely, "But if you really want me and if I won't be any trouble, then I'd love to. Besides, I have some things to talk to you guys about…"

Chazz and Alexis exchanged a glance. The serious edge to his tone signified that something major was about to happen. Either that or he was making a big deal out of nothing. Who knew with Jaden. Then again, he was more mature…

With a murmured assurance that Jaden was no trouble, Alexis disappeared back into the kitchen to begin preparing dinner while Chazz and Jaden talked. She listened as they spoke of their careers in dueling, and what they'd been up to. Jaden mentioned that since he had been working to keep the world safe from power hungry duelists, he hadn't been able to hold a permanent position in the Pro Circuit. Instead, he'd had to take a few small jobs wherever he traveled, which he did a lot of. Chazz, on the other hand, talked about how he had been fairing in the Pro League. Currently, he was the top rated duelist, though he didn't feel as though that were enough. Alexis rolled her eyes at this, thinking that Chazz had the most vaulting ambition of anyone she'd ever met.

When they finally did sit down to eat, Jaden still hesitated to reveal why he'd come to visit them. Since Chazz and Alexis were waiting for him to say something, they kept their mouths shut. The silence was almost overbearing. Jaden took a few silent bites of food before breaking the ice. "Thanks for the meal. I could use it these days. It's very good."

Alexis smiled. "Glad you like it…You don't always eat out, do you?"

He shook his head as he took another bite of shrimp. "No, of course not. I can cook…sort of. You do what you have to do." Shrugging, he sighed and rested his chin in the palm of his hand, looking wistful, "Although, it is nice to be able to eat with old friends. Usually, I just eat with Winged Kuriboh and Pharaoh…"

"What about your girlfriend and your dark side?" Chazz teased, smirking.

Frowning, Alexis reached over and swatted his arm. "Chazz! That's a sore subject. Don't bring that up…" She hissed.

"No, it's all right," Jaden said, running a hand through his hair and smiling, "Though she's NOT my girlfriend. Yes, them too, I suppose. I talk to Yubel often, true, but I hardly talk to…him…I mean, he kind of is me so…yeah…"

"Yeah, you've explained it before," Chazz said, waving it off, "And it still scrambles my brains. Let's not think of it so deeply…"

"Anyway," Jaden sighed, "It's just not the same. I miss you guys…and…Syrus…"

Chazz and Alexis exchanged a nervous glance. Syrus was a sore subject as well. After all, the poor guy's health had failed on him after being so badly poisoned. He'd been all right for the most part, just ill often, until after they'd graduated. That was when he'd contracted pneumonia and died from complications. Jaden had been devastated. Not only had he still been recovering from all that had happened to him in Dark World, but then…to lose one of his best friends…It was almost too much.

"I miss Jesse too," He said wistfully, poking at the piece of shrimp on his plate, "I mean--we do e-mail a lot, every day actually--it's just not the same…I miss all of you guys…So over the past year, I've been trying to catch up with everyone. But it's not easy with my responsibilities and all."

Alexis nodded understandingly and patted his hand. "But you're making it."

"Anyway, enough about me," Jaden said, trying to lighten the mood, "Tell me what you guys have been doing, exactly."

"Well," Alexis sighed, "I've been teaching Dueling Philosophy at Duel Academy…It's tough at times, but very rewarding. The lesson plans just keep me up late at night, and I don't have too much time between that and keeping my dueling skills up. Chazz and I barely see each other during the school year. I mean, he does come to see me whenever he can, but we usually can only talk over a quick dinner. But, then too, he's really busy with his career and helping his father with the Princeton Corporation. He's too busy with interviews and advertising and the such when he's not dueling to really have any time to see me. That's why I'm so glad when summer comes and I get a break and he has one too. It's very difficult on us."

"But you're happy, right?" Jaden asked, shoveling some rice in his mouth.

"Of course," Chazz said, frowning, "We're doing what we want to do, what we love to do. And we don't mind if we don't get to sleep in the same bed every night. Our life is fulfilling. And our relationship isn't suffering."

"It's not everything, either," Alexis muttered, "We learned that a LONG time ago."

Jaden laughed at the look Chazz shot Alexis. "Well, that's good…" He sighed again, and looked out the window, almost longingly.

"What's the matter?" Chazz demanded to know, scowling. This was his way of showing concern.

"It's just that…We couldn't get rid of the Underground or the Shadow Riders completely…They're still out there. I have to battle them on a regular basis. But you know, the Underground has changed quite a bit, thankfully. They mostly stay out of everyone's way these days, except it's illegal and all. They're still hurting people. It's tough to fight an enemy when you don't know where they are or the next move they'll make. Ah, well. As long as they don't cause trouble, then it's all good." He smiled wanly as he stood, "That's what I wanted to tell you guys--to be aware and keep an eye out. If you see anything, let me know, Ok?"

"Of course we will. In fact, we'll help you wipe the floor with them if you need it," Chazz offered, smirking widely at the thought.

"Hey, what are friends for? Of course we will!" Alexis agreed, smiling brightly.

"Well, it was nice seeing you guys," Jaden sighed, "But I have to be going. I'll see you again, one day. If the wind should take me in your direction again." He held a finger in the air as though checking the air current, then laughed and flashed his signature hand sign. "Later! And thanks again."

"Anytime," Alexis told him, hugging him, "And you're welcome."

Jaden grabbed Chazz's hand and shook it. "See you around, bro."

"Ok, take care, slacker. And don't get into any trouble. Especially not with your GIRLFRIEND." He laughed snidely at this.

Jaden flashed a cheeky grin. "Ok, I won't." As he started to leave, he looked over his shoulder and smirked. "Ok, maybe she is kind of like a girlfriend…but maybe not at the same time. Who knows? I sure don't." He shrugged, his dark eyes sparkling with mischief.

"I knew it!" Chazz looked triumphant. Before he could gloat about it any more, though, Jaden had closed the door.

"Well, that was interesting," Alexis laughed, "The way that people change…"

"You can say that again," Chazz grumbled, stiffening a bit. He watched Alexis push her food around her plate from narrowed eyes.

Sighing, Alexis got up and put her plate on the counter. Then, she crossed her arms and looked at Chazz. "You know…I could use a little affection once in a while…"

"But I always--"

She stepped over to him and placed a finger on his lips, smirking. "Oh, come on, you know what I mean. It's Ok…It's legal." She teased, tugging at a spike that was flopping in his face.

Immediately, his face turned red. "Well, um…" He looked both ways. Then, he scooped her up in his arms, and carried her up the stairs to their room, "I think I'll take you up on your offer then…"

He dumped her on the bed, then shut the door, locking it even though no one else lived in the house. Then, he drew the blinds and looked at her. "Are you sure we can do this? I mean…right after dinner…"

She nodded. "We've done it before. It won't make me sick."

Shrugging, he peeled his jacket off and let it drop to the floor. Then, he hurriedly stripped himself of his shirt and his pants. She snickered a little at how clumsy and rushed he was becoming. Scowling at her amusement, he kept undressing himself. He climbed up on the bed and frowned a little, tugging at her clothes. She stuck her tongue out at him, teasingly. Taking this as an invitation, he did the honor for her. She hit his shoulder playfully as he pulled her dress over her head, leaving her in her underwear. Placing his arms around her and leaning over until she fell on her back, staring up at him, he reached around until he found the clasp. With a skillful flick of his finger and a smirk, her bra was loosened. A little tug was all that was required before it hit the floor. Despite the fact that they'd been married for several years and done the deed countless times, she was still embarrassed at how quickly and casually he could do this. He watched in satisfaction as her face reddened at his gentle touch. She reached up and placed her hands on his chest, pushing him away.

"Don't get too comfy with me," She warned him, half-jokingly.

He leaned down and kissed her neck in response. Sighing, she let her fingers drift and entangle themselves in his rich, ebony spikes. As she stroked his hair, she thought about how he'd never change, no matter what she threatened him with. Just as well. She liked him the way he was, despite all the things she might say at times. They'd had their fair share of arguments and troubles. But in the end, there was no way she'd trade him for the world. He was good to her, and respected her…for the most part. Even at times like this, he let her take control. He would not do anything she didn't want him to do if it concerned sex.

He rested his cheek on her shoulder and laid his hand on one of her breasts, gently tracing the nipple with his finger. She shivered at the touch. Even after all this time, he could still make her feel weak. She didn't like that a feeling had such a huge effect on her. Of course, she would never let it be apparent in public, but still. She stiffened from beneath him, but didn't object. Leaning over, he gave it a tiny kiss, and then one of his infamous licks. This earned him a little swat on the back. He knew she hated that. Smiling in faux innocence, he propped himself up on his elbow and fondled her cheek in one of his hands, staring into her eyes. He leaned in closer, until she could feel his warm breath on her face. Then, he tilted his head and captured her lips in a gentle kiss, massaging her lips with his while holding her chin between a finger and a thumb and rubbing her breast with the other hand. They kissed feverishly for a few moments before breaking apart for air.

Not wanting to hold back any longer, Chazz reached down, his fingertips tracing the outline of her muscles as it ran down to her hips. Then, he hooked his fingers on the rim of her underwear and tugged it downwards. Her blush deepened as she felt herself being exposed to the cool air. Chazz leaned in and kissed her mouth again as he tugged his boxers down. Slipping her arms around his neck, she held onto him tightly as he placed his hands on her legs, slowly spreading them. All the while, he stared her in the eyes, making sure that it was all right. He seemed to constantly worry that they shouldn't do it. Alexis rubbed his back and nodded, giving him permission. That was enough for him. Taking a gulp of air to prepare himself, he plunged into her. She let out a little sigh when he did. Every time she felt him enter her like that, it took her breath away. She felt closer to him when they did this, instead of farther away.

He began to move inside her rhythmically as he stroked her face and gave her tiny kisses. She clung to him, pressing him against her rapidly beating heart and digging her nails into his skin, leaving small red imprints. Even though she hated to admit it, it was rather worth it, everything that they had gone through and still went through. She was happy to be with him, even though she didn't like to give into his affections too often. At least she could give in without fear in private. She knew Chazz wasn't a kiss and tell type of guy. Well, perhaps he had bragged a few times to some of the guys at Duel Academy when they'd started dating. But that was only because they were trying to make a move on her. Still, she could take care of the pests herself. And she did not appreciate him interfering like that. Thinking of this again irked her. She pinched him rather hard, her expression a cross between a smirk and a grimace.

"You'd better never tell anyone about our private life again or how I act around you, you hear me?" She warned.

"I…won't…" He panted, his arms tightening around her as his movements grew faster and clumsier.

"On threat of death," She told him, smirking.

He just nodded, too out of breath to respond verbally. It amused her to see what sort of effect she had on him. Of course, he had the same effect on her, and often. She just tried not to show it as much. Unfortunately, when he was making her feel that good, it was a bit near impossible. She inhaled sharply as he hit just the right spot over and over again. Her nails dug deeper into his back, raking down them, leaving behind red streaks. He winced a little at this, but didn't tell her to stop. Breathing heavily, she leaned up and brushed her lips to his, then again, harder. He placed his hand behind her head, pressing their mouths closer. After a moment, he touched his tongue to her lips, asking permission for entrance. She granted it, and let him search her mouth with his tongue. The taste was not entirely pleasant, especially since they'd just eaten, but she didn't care. The sensation was nice, and that was what mattered. She allowed her own tongue to drift into his mouth, searching the interior. Then, she touched her fingers to his chest, tracing his muscles with them. He shivered at this and broke the kiss to gulp air hungrily.

Stroking his hair away from his dampened forehead, she smiled and lay back against the pillow, her golden hair spilling over the edges of the white pillow. "You can be such an idiot," She teased softly, "But you're my idiot. And I love you."

His face flushed more than it already was. Leaning over, he brushed his lips to hers, gingerly licking at them and nibbling. Then, he propped himself on his elbows and stared into her eyes, his breath coming in short, hot puffs on her face. "You can be a pain," He told her shakily, "But I love you, too. And I'm happy with you."

They shared another kiss, their arms slipping around each other. His movements gradually became gentler instead of frantic. He would do her that much of a favor, at least for the time being. Besides, he didn't want to end it too soon. She was grateful for this and showed it through the few kisses she bestowed upon his neck. Then, pressing her forehead against his chest, she sighed contentedly. They had come a long way since high school. Perhaps they had done the wrong thing by jumping into the relationship. But it was all worth it then. Perhaps fate had used it to push them together. And she couldn't have been happier. Her life was going just the way she wanted it. She and Chazz weren't so close it was suffocating, but rather got just enough of each other. And she hoped that it would stay that way. She'd found that love could enhance her life, instead of hinder it like she'd thought it would. Perhaps she would be more open to trying new things in the future. After all, one never knew when the worst experience of his life could turn out to be the best gift later on. She may have lost a lot in the process, but she wouldn't turn the clock back for anything. Her life, though filled with enough trouble, was fulfilling, and satisfying. Nothing could ever make her change her mind about it. Nothing could ever make her change her mind about Chazz. After all, he was hers until the very end. And nothing was going to separate them until the day they died.

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**A/N: Meh, too fluffyish. Whatever. I kind of liked it, and the lemon was random, but I felt like ending it on a warm note. So, there ya have it. Bittersweet ending. Sorry if I spoiled anything for dub watchers only. But…like…there's so many spoilers on the internet these days. How could you NOT know? Ya know? Ah well. Anyway, hope you liked it enough. :sigh: Maybe one day…I dunno. Thanks for reading and staying with me, whether you thought it was shit or not! XD (Cuz I know I sure thought it was. Love-hate relationship y'all.)**


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